No tax credit for Rivian (effective April 18, 2023)

[tomis916]

I have not yet filed my 2022 Federal Income Tax Return. I signed the Binding Purchase Agreement with Rivian on August 10, 2022. I am taking Factory Delivery of my R1T on April 26, 2023. This being the case, can I claim the tax credit when I file my 2022 return?

Brian

I"m in the same situation. I filed an extension and will claim the credit on my 2022 return which I will file after I take delivery (its on the train). I didn't factor the credit into the amount of my extension payment because the timing of delivery was unclear at the time I filed the extension. So, I will get a refund for the amount of the credit.

Unfortunately, my credit will be less than the full $7,500 since it is a non-refundable credit and the IRS didn't make up the rules for the 2022 tax year until 2023.

To all the comments about people buying Rivians and possibly still qualifying under the new income limitation rules - I'm retired and I can pretty much make my taxable income what I want it to be (within a broad range, anyway). Of course, I don't expect anyone to feel much sympathy for me not getting the full credit.

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[Shaq9.7R1S]

The reason Rivian is nolonger on the list is because it has zero cars currently available for reservation that start at under $80,000.
Your reservation for an R1S or R1T, if it is under $80,000 will still qualify for the credit.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Can someone tell me the difference between a PBA and a BPA?

I signed a Preliminary Buyer's Agreement (PBA) with Rivian last year on 8 Aug, before the IRA was signed into law. I keep seeing reference to a BPA, which I assume stands for "Buyer's Preliminary Agreement", as being the document needed to qualify for the pre-IRA tax credit however.

Does this mean Rivian sent - and I signed - the wrong document and that I'm SOL regarding the tax credit? Another complication is that the PBA references the R1T Max I'd initially reserved. I had to change that in January when Rivian told us that they weren't going to make that version, so will take delivery of an R1S.

BPA is Binding Purchase Agreement. If you signed one of these you have an obligation to purchase. The agreement just stated "An R1 vehicle" so switching models doesn't affect your obligation.

 

[Autolycus]

I'm amazed how many people on this board buy such expensive cars and make such little money.

DINK family here. Both good, reliable jobs that put us >$250k but <$300k total income in a moderate COL area (Atlanta suburbs). We drive our cars for a decade.

I won't respond directly to "such little money"...

 

[Jac]

Can someone tell me the difference between a PBA and a BPA?

I signed a Preliminary Buyer's Agreement (PBA) with Rivian last year on 8 Aug, before the IRA was signed into law. I keep seeing reference to a BPA, which I assume stands for "Buyer's Preliminary Agreement", as being the document needed to qualify for the pre-IRA tax credit however.

Does this mean Rivian sent - and I signed - the wrong document and that I'm SOL regarding the tax credit? Another complication is that the PBA references the R1T Max I'd initially reserved. I had to change that in January when Rivian told us that they weren't going to make that version, so will take delivery of an R1S.

Yeah, you would have gotten this email from Rivian on August 10. If you pressed the link button and electronically signed before the 16th of August you are all set.

“ We've received quite a few inquiries from the Rivian community asking how the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) may impact your eligibility to obtain the $7,500 IRC 30D federal EV tax credit when you purchase your R1T or R1S. Here's what we know and how we plan to support our customers’ efforts to maintain eligibility for the federal EV tax credit.

The Inflation Reduction Act may soon become law.

Once signed into law, the Inflation Reduction Act will add new restrictions to buyers’ eligibility to receive the $7,500 IRC 30D federal EV tax credit. Under these new restrictions, an electric pick-up truck or SUV must be priced below $80,000 and the buyer must fall below certain income thresholds to qualify.

Fortunately, buyers who have a “written binding contract” to purchase a qualified EV before the Inflation Reduction Act becomes law will be able to apply under the current IRC 30D tax credit requirements.

What Rivian preorder and reservation holders can do.

If you’d like to sign a binding contract for your R1T or R1S purchase, click “Review and Accept” below. Signing the contract will make $100 of your existing $1,000 deposit non-refundable and help you to maintain eligibility to apply for the $7,500 tax credit under its current requirements. According to the Senate bill, any customer with a binding contract will not be subject to the new vehicle price and income restrictions when applying for the federal tax credit, regardless of the vehicle delivery date. We do want to caution that the final bill terms are not certain and have not yet been passed by the House of Representatives. Further, we cannot guarantee that the IRS will approve tax credit eligibility as we interpret the terms of the Inflation Reduction Act. However, we are offering our customers this opportunity as a way to do what we can to increase the probability of receiving the $7,500 IRC 30D tax credit.

When will the Inflation Reduction Act be enacted?

While we can’t predict exact timing nor guarantee it becomes law, this bill has already passed the Senate and will head to the House for a vote on Friday, August 12. All indications are that this legislation should pass the House and then be signed into law. Once signed, the Inflation Reduction Act is considered enacted.

Rivian customers interested in signing a binding contract may do so by clicking the button below and agreeing to the terms. Once the Inflation Reduction Act becomes law, customers will lose this chance and be subject to the new restrictions on vehicle price limits and personal income caps.

What happens if I decide to do nothing?

Taking this step is your choice. If you decide not to sign the binding order agreement, your Rivian deposit will remain under our existing fully refundable terms.”

Button marked: Review and Accept

 

[Hillbilly]

The reason Rivian is nolonger on the list is because it has zero cars currently available for reservation that start at under $80,000.
Your reservation for an R1S or R1T, if it is under $80,000 will still qualify for the credit.

I really hope that's the reason.

 

[Dark-Fx]

DINK family here. Both good, reliable jobs that put us >$250k but <$300k total income in a moderate COL area (Atlanta suburbs). We drive our cars for a decade.

I won't respond directly to "such little money"...

 

[Yossarian]

Interesting. It looks like what I signed is not the binding agreement I thought it was, even though it was sent on 10 August and is the only email on that day from Rivian. The email had a subject line stating Rivian has added you as a Signer to "Preliminary Buyer's Agreement"
and the body of the mesage went on to say:
Hi [Rivian Buyer],
Rivian, LLC has added you as a Signer to "Preliminary Buyer's Agreement".

Please review and complete "Preliminary Buyer's Agreement".

Go To Documents​

Please sign Rivian's Preliminary Buyer's Agreement

I navigated to the agreement via the provided link and signed the document there titled "ORDER AGREEMENT". The preamble to the agreement stated, also in caps and bold text that
" THIS RIVIAN MOTOR VEHICLE ORDER AGREEMENT (THE “AGREEMENT”) GOVERNS YOUR
ORDER OF THE VEHICLE (AS DEFINED BELOW). PLEASE READ THIS AGREEMENT
CAREFULLY. THIS AGREEMENT CONTAINS VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING
YOUR RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS, AS WELL AS CONDITIONS, LIMITATIONS, AND
EXCLUSIONS THAT MIGHT APPLY TO YOU. THIS AGREEMENT CREATES A BINDING LEGAL
CONTRACT BETWEEN YOU, YOUR EMPLOYEES, AGENTS AND CONTRACTORS, AND ANY
OTHER ENTITY ON WHOSE BEHALF YOU ACCEPT THIS AGREEMENT (COLLECTIVELY,
“YOU”) AND RIVIAN LLC (“RIVIAN”, “WE”, “US” OR “OUR”) GOVERNING YOUR ORDER OF
THE VEHICLE IDENTIFIED IN YOUR SAVED CONFIGURATION (THE “VEHICLE”)."

Further down, Article one states the following:
"1. Agreement to Purchase.
You agree to purchase the Vehicle as described in your saved configuration (“Configuration”) as of the date of this Agreement (“Order Date”) from Rivian, LLC. or its affiliate (“we,” “us” or “our”), pursuant to the terms and conditions of this Agreement. These Terms are subject to change by Rivian (referred to as "us", "we", or "our" as the context may require) without prior written notice at any time, in our sole discretion; provided that the version of the Agreement that you accepted at the time you ordered the Vehicle will govern your order of that Vehicle. . . "

So no matter what, this agreement is void because the configuration of my order is changed. I wonder if this is a unique case or if others also have the same story. The double whammy for me is that was careful to keep the purchase price under the $80k threshold so that if the IRS did not accept the PBA, I'd still get at least 50% of the $7,500. If the articles today are accurate, the IRS took that away as well.

 

[johntesi]

I really hope that's the reason.

Same. I have a pre-March reservation price and am very comfortably under the $80k threshold and the income threshold. Losing the tax credit as a result of waiting my turn for the truck makes this a non-starter for me, though.

$7500 is roughly 11% of the purchase price of the vehicle; for someone like me, that's a really big deal. I'll reach financially for something that I really believe in (a cleaner transportation option and a company trying to do things differently/better than the alternatives), but the loss of the tax credit does put this out of reach for me, for now.

Not really sure how I missed the BPA emails, I can't find them anywhere in my inbox, but that doesn't mean I didn't somehow delete them in my sleep eight months ago.

I am sure I'm not the only one who "can afford it" but will no longer embrace being an early adopter or stretching their budget quite as much without the tax incentive. The arcane rules and speed at which they were implemented is really disappointing. Combating inflation by reducing the average person's purchasing power will only really benefit corporations.

I got hosed by a Ford dealership selling my customer-ordered Bronco out from under me and to order an identical build today would cost $6k more than my price-protected order. Paying 10-15% more for the same good does not combat inflation, it validates it.

I get that fewer government bucks in circulation = less inflation of the dollar, but pork barreling EV incentives with "Inflation Reduction" is really disappointing.

I went from having two really compelling car purchase opportunities to zero, all without doing anything at all. Guess it's time to embrace driving an Outback for many more years and spend my money on bikes and guitars instead. Good luck, Rivian!

 

[Honey]

Yeah, and the income limit.

I'm amazed how many people on this board buy such expensive cars and make such little money.

? *cries in california* lol in all seriousness, 7500 is not going to break my bank, just gotta work a few more overtime shifts. This move, imo, is good for the american economy.

 

[Dave711]

To Rivian: Will you change the battery source material and assemble it in America so that your Rivian may qualify for the $7,500 rebate? What do you think, could we wait to take delivery until Rivian qualifies for a full $7,500 rebate?

 

[VSG]

To Rivian: Will you change the battery source material and assemble it in America so that your Rivian may qualify for the $7,500 rebate? What do you think, could we wait to take delivery until Rivian qualifies for a full $7,500 rebate?

If they do, it can't happen overnight. There are limited domestic sources for those minerals, and now every EV manufacturer (domestic and foreign) is scrambling to secure a share of future domestic resources in order to keep competitive in the US market. Most manufacturers probably also have long-term supply contracts for some of these things, and are somewhat locked in to decisions made years ago. This is one reason why changing the rules with only a few months notice was such a bad idea.

I imagine Rivian will target the R2 for getting the full credit, but the R1T may be stuck at half the credit unless they discover Lithium deposits under Normal.

 

[Dave711]

Right now it is listed as no credit. Some of us have waited several years. I wonder it Rivian would let us wait several more years if we want to or force us to take a R1 that does not qualify or loose our reservation?

 

[Deleted member 11292]

I wouldn't drive one of those if they gave it to me.

I wouldn't even let them give it to me. The most stupid-looking vehicle ever.

 

[ThatRivianGuy]

The reason Rivian is nolonger on the list is because it has zero cars currently available for reservation that start at under $80,000.
Your reservation for an R1S or R1T, if it is under $80,000 will still qualify for the credit.

Do you have a source for this? I talked to Rivian CS today and they didn't mention this at all.

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