Did you file any special forms besides the regular business tax forms? My accountant seems confused about this.

Yes, you need to file Form 8936 (Qualified Plug-in Electric Drive Motor Vehicle Credit) with your business tax return. This is where you actually claim the credit. Make sure your accountant is familiar with business vehicle credits specifically. Some accountants primarily handle individual returns and aren't as familiar with the business-specific credits like 45W. I had to switch accountants last year because mine wasn't confident about handling specialized business credits.

The 45W clean vehicle credit is only for new vehicles purchased for business use, not used ones. There's a separate credit (IRC 25E) for used clean vehicles, but that's for individuals, not businesses. If you buy used, you won't qualify for the 45W. You might be better off leasing new if budget is a concern, though as others mentioned, the leasing company typically gets the credit in that case.

Thanks for the clarification! So if I'm in graduate school now, I'm completely ineligible for the AOTC regardless of whether I've claimed it before, right? I should only be looking at the Lifetime Learning Credit?

Correct. If you're in graduate school, you're generally ineligible for the AOTC regardless of whether you've used it before. Graduate-level education is considered beyond the first 4 years of post-secondary education, so you'll want to claim the Lifetime Learning Credit instead. The only possible exception would be if you're in a graduate program but technically haven't completed your first 4 years of undergraduate education (unusual but possible in some accelerated programs). In most normal situations though, graduate students should be claiming the Lifetime Learning Credit.

It doesn't matter which school you attend or if you transfer - it's the total number of years you've claimed the AOTC that counts, not the number of schools. So if you claimed AOTC for 2 years at community college, you'd have 2 years of eligibility left, regardless of where you continue your education.

I didn't even know about Publication 514 having examples for this! Thank you for the tip - I'll definitely look into that. Do you happen to know if there's any time limit on claiming these credits? Like if I missed claiming them a few years ago, can I still go back and get them?

Generally, you can file an amended return to claim missed credits for up to 3 years from the original filing deadline or 2 years from when you paid the tax, whichever is later. For AMT credits specifically, they can carry forward indefinitely until used up, but you need to be tracking them correctly each year. If you never claimed your AMT on Form 8801 in subsequent years, you might need to file amended returns for those years to establish the credit carryforward properly.

This makes sense to me now! I was wondering why I couldn't use my full credit amount even though I had a large carryover from last year. My tentative minimum tax was limiting me.

Exactly! It's frustrating but makes sense from a policy perspective. The AMT was designed to ensure everyone pays at least some minimum amount of tax, so they won't let your credit reduce your tax below that minimum threshold in the current year. The good news is that any unused credit continues to carry forward until you can use it in a future year when your regular tax exceeds your tentative minimum tax by a larger margin.

That's a really good point! In my case though, I checked and don't qualify for any refundable credits. My income was too low and it was all from 1099 gig work. Do you think that strengthens my case for trying to get the money back?

Yes, that definitely strengthens your case! Since you don't qualify for any refundable credits, you have a clearer argument that you wouldn't have owed anything if you hadn't filed. I still think you'll need to file that 1040X with a very detailed explanation letter. Make sure to specifically state that you're requesting a refund because your income was below the filing threshold and you don't qualify for any refundable credits that would have made filing beneficial. Be prepared for a long wait though - amendments can take 6+ months to process.

Did she use a tax professional or do it herself? I'm wondering if I need to hire someone for this.

This is a good explanation but you're missing tax CREDITS which are even better than deductions! Deductions reduce your taxable income, but credits reduce your actual tax bill dollar-for-dollar. Like the Earned Income Credit can be worth thousands if you qualify!

You're absolutely right! Credits are super valuable and I should have mentioned them. Deductions reduce your taxable income, while credits directly reduce your tax bill, making them more powerful. Some common credits include the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for low to moderate income workers, Child Tax Credit if you have kids, American Opportunity Credit for education expenses, and Retirement Savings Contributions Credit (Saver's Credit) if you contribute to retirement accounts while having moderate income. Thanks for pointing this out - credits can make a huge difference in your final tax bill!

Tax deductions and exemptions are similar but different. Deductions are expenses that reduce your taxable income (like student loan interest or charitable donations). Personal exemptions used to be a thing (a set amount you could deduct for yourself and dependents) but they were eliminated by the 2017 tax law until 2025. For tax brackets, they only apply to the income within each bracket (this is called "marginal" taxation). For example, if you're single with $48,000 taxable income in 2023, you'd pay 10% on the first $11,000, then 12% on the income from $11,001 to $44,725, and 22% only on the amount from $44,726 to $48,000. People sometimes think getting into a higher bracket means ALL their income gets taxed at the higher rate, but that's not how it works.