Give Yourself Some Credit – Tax incentives for Hybrid Owners

Buying a hybrid car is becoming quite an investment. The hybrid, which operates on both a gasoline engine and an electric engine, is offering much more than a decrease in gasoline cost. It also offers consumers the ability to directly help the environment. Hybrids are known to emit very few pollutants, especially when compared to conventional vehicles. It is stated that hybrids are up to 90% cleaner to the air than normal cars. This something the government is willing to reward hybrid drivers for.

Tax incentives for hybrid owners are one of the newest things offered. Hybrid owners are ecstatic about the new bill passed that gives them as much as $3,400 back. President George W. Bush passed the bill as a new Energy Bill. The bill focuses on the environment but also on the fact that hybrids save on oil use. This directly affects the country's dependency on foreign oil. When a consumer purchases a hybrid, they are directly helping break the control many radical Islamists have over the United States through oil. These are the same individuals who hate the United States. Therefore, it is only logical the United States would want to reward hybrid owners for their smart purchases.

Many consumers find this new bill difficult to understand. The average consumer may joke that it takes an accounting degree to figure it all out. The formula used for the tax incentive involves the fuel efficiency numbers for 2002 vehicles. It works a little like this: If your car is between 25 and 50 percent more efficient than the average 2002 vehicle model, then the buyer will receive a $400 credit. The credit can grow as high as $2,400 if the new car is even more efficient.

The trick of the bill is that is also offers a combination of a conservation credit. This involves knowing a formula that tries to project how much fuel the car will save over its lifetime. The combination of the first half of the calculation and the second half of the calculation gives the tax benefit total. There are a few restrictions however that some consumers may not be aware of. One of the restrictions includes a credit cap for each automaker until 2010, which is set at 60,000 at this time. Other restrictions as described also restrict inclusion of certain hybrid models, especially those that are SUV hybrids or those purchased after 2005. All in all however, hybrid owners in general will profit from this tax benefit.

The bill may seem a bit confusing and limited at this time, but hybrid owners will likely benefit greatly from this tax incentive. Just leave it to your accountant to figure out the details and sit back to claim the reward. After all, not everyone understands every aspect of their personal taxes each year, but they still pay and collect on them. By giving hybrid owners this great incentive, the United States is not only rewarding current hybrid owners, but they are encouraging consumers that do not own hybrids to go out and purchase one.

The government is showing that hybrids not only help the consumer individually but they also help the country as a whole. If every car driven on the roads of the United States was a hybrid car, then the United States could potentially cut their oil needs down by 15%. This is an enormous number considering that the United States currently imports more than 11 million barrels of oil a day. Overall, the United States would be less dependent on oil for normal day-to-day activities and the cost of oil would be affected.

If you want to lower your personal gasoline costs then you should consider a hybrid. If you are interested in ways to help preserve the clean air of the environment, then you should consider a hybrid. If you are interested in the disadvantages of the dependency the United States has on foreign oil, then you should consider a hybrid. And most of all, if you are one that loves great government incentives, like the new Energy Bill that gives hybrid owners tax incentives, then you should certainly consider buying a hybrid.