Leasing and the Fed $7500 credit

[CMYK4Life]

Hello,

I have been leasing the i3 for 3 weeks now. Love it.

I just ended my Leaf lease and I remember 'signing over' my $7500 credit to Nissan in the beginning when I leased the car (this made the payment even lower). After that I never saw the credit or never filled out another form because it was as if I applied $7500 to the downpayment.

When I signed the i3 Rex lease paperwork there were no documents or line items mentioning the $7500 credit.

My question is:

Does the credit come out somewhere else for MBW? Do I just file it on my own?

Because I leased in January 2015 does that mean I have to wait until I file 2015 taxes for this credit?

 

[NoVAi3Rex]

Does the credit come out somewhere else for MBW? Do I just file it on my own?

Because you leased and did not buy, you do not get the credit. BMW is the owner of the vehicle and gets a credit, which is approximately $4,800. Your lease deal probably had $5,500 "lease cash" included in the deal. This is BMW crediting your lease payments using that tax credit they'll receive.

BMW does offer a lease-like sale option called the Owners Choice program, which allows an i3/i8 buyer to file for the credit (and yes, if purchased in 2015 then applied for in 2016), but then doesn't offer the $5,500 lease credit.

 

[i3atl]

NoVAi3Rex has it right.

The "lease credit" varies depending on your region - it's $4,875 in some places, $5,500 in others. It would've been factored into your purchase price up front, so you should've received a discount off MSRP + whatever the lease credit is in your region.

 

[user 1536]

Because you leased and did not buy, you do not get the credit. BMW is the owner of the vehicle and gets a credit, which is approximately $4,800. Your lease deal probably had $5,500 "lease cash" included in the deal. This is BMW crediting your lease payments using that tax credit they'll receive.

The federal credit is still $7500, and BMW is only choosing to pass along $4800. I don't know where the "lease cash" number comes from, but it would be the $4800 credit + something else.

http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/30D-New-Qualified-Plug-in-Electric-Drive-Motor-Vehicles-BMW-of-North-America