My rebate is worthless

[snowdog650]

Originally Posted by joesolo

i'm recieving all my federal taxes back. But that leaves no room for my Prius credit to take affect and thus I won't be getting anything for it. How much of a load of crap is that?

I'm thinking of writing a letter to the IRs explaining it. The way the system is setup it doesn't make it beneficial for young, recent college grads to buy a hybrid. If you don't make enough money to recieve the credit your SOL.

Maybe you should be thankful that so many of us foot the bill for your social services, government operations, national security, funded your college education expenses ...

It's a tax credit. You paid no taxes. End of story.

You didn't get screwed.

Come back next year, when you actually have to pay taxes, and let us know if you feel less screwed than you do now.

I love giving the government $15,000 each year so they can buy stuff for other people.

[Rae Vynn]

It's a credit against your tax bill. If you have no bill, you don't have a credit.

I can just see me, at some service counter, "Hi, I have a credit here for $25." "I'm sorry, you don't have an account with us." "Well, that doesn't matter, you need to refund me $25." "But, you didn't pay us $25 to begin with, how can we refund you money that you didn't give us?" "That's not fair! This credit doesn't help me at all!"

Life isn't fair, Princess. Anyone that tells you it is, is trying to sell you something.

[Jack66]

Originally Posted by joesolo

So after getting my taxes done, I found out that I won't be recieving my $787.50 credit. I graduated in May and started working in July. Since then, I've paid off a bunch of interest from my student loans. Because I paid off more in student loans than I paid in federal taxes, i'm recieving all my federal taxes back(no complaint there). But that leaves no room for my Prius credit to take affect and thus I won't be getting anything for it. How much of a load of crap is that?

I'm thinking of writing a letter to the IRs explaining it. The way the system is setup it doesn't make it beneficial for young, recent college grads to buy a hybrid. If you don't make enough money to recieve the credit your SOL.

Student loan after college: $$$$

Hybrid rebate while having no tax liability: $0

Learning how the IRS operates: PRICELESS

[kerouac906]

Is there no way to defer the credit? As an Oregon resident I was given the option to defer the state credit for a few years if I couldn't/didn't want to apply it to 2007 taxes...

I was able to get full credit for both Federal ($788) & State ($1500) so I am a happy camper!

Maybe you could have deferred your student loan interest paid to 2008 (or a portion thereof) so you could get your $788...? I am able to carryover capital gains/losses to the next year, just something to check out...

[Jack66]

Originally Posted by kerouac906

Is there no way to defer the credit? As an Oregon resident I was given the option to defer the state credit for a few years if I couldn't/didn't want to apply it to 2007 taxes...

I was able to get full credit for both Federal ($788) & State ($1500) so I am a happy camper!

Maybe you could have deferred your student loan interest paid to 2008 (or a portion thereof) so you could get your $788...? I am able to carryover capital gains/losses to the next year, just something to check out...

If you look it up on the IRS website then you should search for the term "carryover." Unfortunately, very few credits carryover. Deferring the student loans would have been a good idea but it sounds like the interest was already paid for 2007.

[JimN]

Originally Posted by kerouac906

Is there no way to defer the credit?

Don't put the car in service.

[Stev0]

I'm having this thread printed out and framed.

[CalvinL]

I just traded in my 2005 Toyota Prius - for which I received the taxes I paid in addition to a bit of money back into the car... ($3150 in cold hard cash)... but now... I think I'm gonna be sad when I do my tax year 2008 taxes in 2009... *heh* *bla bla blah* *gripe gripe gripe*
Our country's tax laws and lawyers needs to see the axe-men... this tax on the income side sucks... let's penalize people for making and saving money... but make money tax-free for those who spend it "properly"; or better yet! a tax credit to those who "spend it properly".
Although I think in principle, tax credit is a good way to stimulating a revolutionary product that can have significant impact on society and the way it consumes energy or social changes. But... *blah*

[Slartibartfast]

Originally Posted by Jack66

If you look it up on the IRS website then you should search for the term "carryover." Unfortunately, very few credits carryover. Deferring the student loans would have been a good idea but it sounds like the interest was already paid for 2007.

Definitely can't carry this one over. I think the 8910 instructions even say as much. They even rigged it so that if you hit the AMT, the lost credit is not classified as AMT, but rather a reduced credit. In other words, instead of taking the full credit and adding AMT back on, you just reduce the credit. This is important because, normally, if AMT is a rare occurrence for you, you can claim a credit on part of it the next year.

For example, if you have a 3150 credit and can only take 1500 because you hit the AMT, your credit is 1500. If it were the other way, your credit would be 3150, your AMT would be 1650, and you could claim a partial credit on the 1650 the next year.

The Republican Congress did that to make the amounts look good on an individual basis, but keep down the overall cost of the program by creating more exclusions. Combined with the sales cap, they did everything possible to keep this credit to a minimum. Same reason they did nothing for 6 years about the general AMT. Tell the middle class they're getting a huge tax cut, but take it back out of their other pocket while they're not looking.

[hometech99]

well, Ive been hitting AMT for a few years- figures that my Prius purchase wont get me the credit.


AMT=
"Abuse the Middle-class Tax"- it doesnt effect low-income earners- and the REAL rich make enough that it doesn't effect their style of living.

"The income tax is not so much a tax on the rich, as it is a tax on those TRYING to get rich. Therefore, the progressive income tax is the enemy of the middle class."
Leona Helmsley wasn't kidding when she said that only the little people pay taxes.

To the original poster- dont worry- you WILL be getting an economic stimulus tax rebate from W- lets just say that your portion of that came out of MY Prius tax credit that I'll never see because of AMT. You're welcome.

and by the way- although I earn enough to get squashed by the AMT, I can't afford a package #6 like you have- i am getting a package #4- see- i have to spend MY money on a house, family, food, etc. SO since you are CHOOSING to blow your limited income on the LUXURY version of this car, dont come here complaining that you are not getting a chunk of MY taxes for doing it

(this is all speculative anyway as the credit would probably be almost phased out completely by now.)