TL;DR. The federal Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit (IRC §30C) ended for any property placed in service after June 30, 2026. That deadline has passed. While it was available, residential got 30% up to $1,000 per port, and commercial got 6% (or 30% with prevailing wage and apprenticeship) up to $100,000 per port. Tax-exempt entities, including churches, religious organizations, and 501(c)(3) nonprofits, could claim it through elective pay. Two gotchas ruled out most claims: the property had to be in an "eligible census tract," and "placed in service" meant operational and inspected, not contracted or paid for. No extension legislation advanced in Congress. This page is kept as a record of how the credit worked; if you placed a charger in service on or before the deadline, the eligibility and filing details below still apply to that return.
What changed and why the deadline was real
Under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the 30C credit was scheduled to run through December 31, 2032. That changed when Public Law 119-21, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), was enacted on July 4, 2025. OBBBA substituted "June 30, 2026" for "December 31, 2032" in the termination clause of §30C(i). 1 2
As of this writing (May 6, 2026), no bill to extend the credit has advanced through either chamber of Congress, and the OBBBA expressly accelerated the phase-out of multiple clean-energy credits as a deliberate policy choice. 3 Treating the deadline as soft is not a defensible planning posture.
The IRS confirmed the change in the December 2025 update to the Form 8911 instructions, which now state plainly: "You can't claim the credit for alternative fuel vehicle refueling property placed in service after June 30, 2026." 4
Who gets what
The credit has three distinct tiers depending on who you are and what the property is for. Most articles collapse these incorrectly.
1. Homeowners (residential, principal residence)
- Credit: 30% of the cost of equipment + installation
- Cap: $1,000 per charging port
- Filed on: IRS Form 8911 (with Schedule A for each port)
- Refundability: Non-refundable. If your federal tax liability is $400, you get $400, not $1,000.
- Restriction: Renters do not qualify. Primary residence only. 5
2. Businesses (commercial property, the biggest opportunity)
- Credit: 6% base rate, OR 30% if the project meets prevailing wage and apprenticeship (PWA) requirements
- Cap: $100,000 per single item (each charging port)
- What "single item" means in dollars: A 6-port Level 2 installation can claim up to $600,000 in credits if it qualifies. A 4-port DC fast charging hub at $150,000 per port could claim up to $400,000.
- Filed on: Form 8911 + Schedule A (one per port) + Form 7220 if claiming PWA enhancement 4
3. Tax-exempt entities (churches, nonprofits, schools, governments)
This is the tier most coverage misses, and it's the one that matters most for faith-forward properties.
Tax-exempt entities, including religious organizations, claim §30C through elective pay (sometimes called "direct pay"). Instead of reducing tax liability, the IRS pays the credit amount directly to the entity. 6
The IRS published an entity-specific guide explicitly listing "religious organizations" as eligible filers. 7 A church installing 6 Level 2 ports at $5,000/port ($30,000 total) that meets PWA requirements would receive a $9,000 direct payment from Treasury: not a tax reduction, but an actual cash deposit.
California-specific note for tax-exempt filers: Elective pay does not preempt California state filing obligations. CA-based 501(c)(3) entities should coordinate with their tax counsel on FTB Form 199 and the federal Form 990-T pathway used to perfect the elective pay election.
The two gotchas that disqualify most claims
Gotcha 1: Eligible census tract requirement
Property under §30C(c)(3) only qualifies if placed in service in an "eligible census tract," defined as either:
- A low-income community under §45D(e) (the New Markets Tax Credit definition), or
- A non-urban census tract as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau and clarified in IRS Notice 2024-20 8
Roughly two-thirds of U.S. census tracts qualify under one of those two definitions, but distribution is uneven; affluent suburban tracts are the most likely to be ineligible. 9
How to check: Argonne National Laboratory maintains the official 30C Tax Credit Eligibility Locator. Enter the property address and it returns the 11-digit GEOID and an eligibility flag. 10
⚠️ This is the single most-missed disqualifier in the field. Verify census tract eligibility before signing an installation contract, not after.
Gotcha 2: "Placed in service" means operational
The statute and regulations define "placed in service" as the date the property is operational and inspected, in a condition of readiness for its specifically assigned function. 4 Not signed. Not paid. Not delivered. Energized, commissioned, and ready to deliver power to a vehicle.
Given typical installation timelines:
- Residential L2: 2–5 weeks (permit, install, inspect, energize)
- Commercial L2 (small site, 2–6 ports): 8–14 weeks
- Commercial DCFC: 16–52+ weeks (utility service upgrade is usually the long pole)
By the final weeks before the deadline, a commercial DCFC project starting fresh had almost zero chance of placing equipment in service by June 30, and only residential and small commercial L2 projects already underway had a realistic path. That window has now closed for everyone.
Worked examples (with the actual math)
Example A: Homeowner, eligible census tract, $2,000 install
- Equipment + labor: $2,000
- 30% of $2,000 = $600
- Cap: $1,000 (not reached)
- Credit: $600, claimed on Form 8911 with the 2026 federal return.
Example B: Commercial property, 6 Level 2 ports, $30,000 total, PWA-compliant
- 30% of $30,000 = $9,000
- Per-port cap of $100,000 not reached
- Credit: $9,000. Required: Form 8911, Schedule A × 6, Form 7220 (PWA verification).
Example C: Same project, NOT PWA-compliant
- 6% of $30,000 = $1,800
- Credit: $1,800. A $7,200 difference for the same hardware. PWA compliance is worth pursuing on any project of meaningful size.
Example D: Faith-forward 501(c)(3), 4 Level 2 ports, $24,000 total, PWA-compliant
- 30% of $24,000 = $7,200
- Filed via elective pay: church receives a $7,200 direct payment from Treasury after filing Form 990-T with attached Form 8911.
What "PWA-compliant" actually requires
Prevailing wage and apprenticeship is what unlocks the 30% commercial rate. Two requirements, both must be met:
- Prevailing wage: All laborers and mechanics employed by the taxpayer, contractor, or subcontractor must be paid at rates not less than the most recent U.S. Department of Labor prevailing wage determination for the locality. 11
- Apprenticeship: A specified percentage of total labor hours must be performed by qualified apprentices from a registered apprenticeship program (15% for projects beginning construction in 2024 or later, subject to good-faith effort exceptions). 12
Documentation requirements are real. Contractors who haven't done public-works projects often don't have the timekeeping and certified-payroll systems to substantiate PWA on audit. Confirm PWA capability in writing before signing. Form 7220 must be filed for every property claimed at the enhanced rate.
Stacking with state and utility incentives
Federal §30C can be combined with state, local, and utility incentives, but rebates received reduce the cost basis used to calculate the federal credit. 13
California-specific stack (relevant to CC's primary market)
| Layer | Program | Status |
|---|
| Federal | §30C tax credit / elective pay | Ended June 30, 2026 |
| State | CALeVIP: Fast Charge California Project | ⚠️ Application window closed Jan 29, 2026; check for next round 14 |
| Utility (SDG&E) | Power Your Drive for Business | ✅ Active (turnkey program for commercial sites) |
| Utility (SCE) | Charge Ready | ✅ Active (make-ready infrastructure for L2 and DCFC) |
| Utility (PG&E) | EV Charge Network | ✅ Active for multifamily and workplace |
| State | SGIP (when paired with on-site storage) | ✅ Active (separate program; applies to the battery, not the EVSE) |
⚠️ POTENTIALLY STALE: CALeVIP project rounds open and close on irregular schedules. Confirm current application windows directly with calevip.org before relying on this for project planning.
Stacking math example (San Diego, SDG&E territory, commercial site)
A 6-port L2 commercial install at $30,000 total, PWA-compliant, in an eligible census tract:
- SDG&E Power Your Drive: covers up to 100% of make-ready infrastructure (utility-side); assume $12,000 covered
- Net out-of-pocket: $18,000
- Federal §30C: 30% of $18,000 = $5,400
- Total project cost to host: $12,600 ($30K nominal − $12K SDG&E − $5.4K federal)
The §30C credit doesn't apply to the portion paid for by SDG&E because that's not a cost the host incurred. This is the most common stacking mistake.
What claiming it required, by audience
These are the steps that applied while the credit was live. If you placed a charger in service on or before June 30, 2026, they still describe how to file for that year; if you did not, the credit is no longer available.
Homeowner
- Confirm the home was in an eligible census tract (the Argonne 30C Eligibility Locator). If ineligible, the federal credit was off the table, leaving utility and state incentives only.
- Keep itemized receipts: equipment, labor, permit fees, and panel work directly attributable to the charger.
- File Form 8911 with the federal return for the tax year the charger was placed in service.
Commercial property owner (for-profit)
- Confirm census tract eligibility.
- Document PWA-compliant labor to claim the 30% enhanced rate; otherwise the credit was the 6% base rate.
- For DCFC projects, the credit was only captured if utility service was energized and the equipment placed in service by the deadline.
Faith-forward / nonprofit property owner
- Confirm 501(c)(3) status was current with the IRS.
- Confirm census tract eligibility.
- Work with a CPA familiar with elective pay filings. The Form 8911 plus Form 990-T pathway has specific pre-filing registration requirements that took weeks to clear.
- For property placed in service after June 30, 2026, §30C is no longer available and does not factor into project economics.
Could Congress bring it back?
The 30C credit was extended multiple times since it was created by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, 14 but the OBBBA explicitly accelerated this phase-out as policy, and no extension legislation advanced. 15
A future revival is not unthinkable, but it is a hope, not a plan. Budget new projects on the real out-of-pocket cost and look to state and utility programs.
Sources
Last factually verified: May 6, 2026. This article is updated when (a) extension legislation is introduced or passed, (b) the IRS issues new Notices or guidance under §30C, or (c) California utility programs that interact with this credit change materially. We log the verification date here, not just the publication date, so you know whether this is current research or a stale page.
Editorial standards: All citations are to primary sources (statute, IRS publications, federal agencies) where available. Secondary sources are clearly identified. We do not have referral arrangements with EV charger manufacturers, installers, or tax preparers; recommendations reflect independent judgment.
