Ontario Tax Rebate. Lease end purchase = extra tax rebate?

I have a Prius 2004. I claimed $1000 for my RST tax rebate on the lease.

In 2007 I purchased the car. According to the 702 RST Guide - Vehicles Powered by Alternative Fuels:

Does that mean I can claim the tax on my purchase, because I have now purchased a used hybrid car? I note that the total combined tax rebate, including the amount claimed for the lease and the potential amount claimed for the lease end purchase, would still be less than the $2000 maximum for the RST rebate under the 2006 guidelines.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Eug @ Feb 23 2007, 11:28 PM) [snapback]395646[/snapback]</div>

I am not familiar with your law but the Prius is not an alternative fuel vehicle. It burns gasoline. I don't think you qualify. Sorry.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JimN @ Feb 24 2007, 12:01 AM) [snapback]395660[/snapback]</div>

In our province of Ontario it does qualify, as there is a provision for "dual-powered" vehicles. The law used to exclude hybrids, but a half dozen years ago was specifically changed to include hybrids. Then, in 2006, the maximum rebate allowed was changed from $1000 to $2000. The form is attached below.

[attachmentid=6681]
What I was just wondering if it's reasonable to claim the retail sales tax (RST) rebate for the purchase of the remainder of a lease.

Facts:

1) When my car came out, the max RST rebate amount was $1000.
2) The RST rebate amount is now $2000 max (as of 2006).
3) The RST rebate applies to leased hybrids, new hybrid purchases and used hybrid purchases.
4) A while back I claimed $1000 off my lease (after around 2 years, since that's how long it took to accumulate $1000 worth of RST). This was when the max claimable was $1000.
5) When my purchased the remainder of my lease in 2007 (after the max rebate was increased to $2000), I spent another $900+ in RST, which I'm thinking I might be able to claim now. If I did claim the additional RST amount from my purchase of 2007, my total claimed would still be less than the maximum of $2000.

I think this may be worth a shot. At least with my uneducated interpretation of the form, I meet all the criteria to be able to claim the additional $900+.

I read the attachment and agree that it sounds like your purchase qualifies.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Feb 25 2007, 02:27 AM) [snapback]396125[/snapback]</div>

Hmmm... interesting question! The Prius definitely qualifies (even as resale), as I received my $2K rebate this past summer on my '06 (demo car, though still considered "new"). The real question is whether a car that was leased previously and since purchased qualifies for the difference...?

I'm fairly certain that the answer will be NO, since I am pretty certain that only one rebate will be processed per VIN. When I applied for the rebate, I had to send the ORIGINAL purchase agreement (which the option to be returned after processing, which I requested), though it came back with the a big red stamp...

Ontario Retail Sales Tax Refund Processed For This Document.

Therefore, I doubt they will process it again...

Definitely worth a shot though!

Good luck and let us know how it goes...

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sarge @ Feb 25 2007, 08:27 PM) [snapback]396462[/snapback]</div>

Yes, lease agreements would also have this stamped on them, if a claim was made for the Ontario RST charged with the lease.

However, the lease is terminated and I have purchased the car, and was issued a new bill of sale for the purchase.

The application form's documentation specifically states that the rebate applies to used car purchases, not just new purchases. Thus, I believe it makes sense to apply since I have truly purchased a used car.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Eug @ Feb 28 2007, 11:26 PM) [snapback]398263[/snapback]</div>

Could be... however the government has on record that they already issued a refund for that VIN to your name.

Knowing the government (and common business practice), I would imagine they will only issue ONE rebate per car per person according to the program in place at the original time of lease/purchase, but on the other hand it does not explicitly say so (as far as I read, anyway), so it is definitely worth giving it a shot!

I wonder how long it will be before I find out. Last time it took many, many weeks. So far this time it's been 3 weeks since they received my applications.

Fingers crossed...

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Eug @ Mar 23 2007, 10:29 PM) [snapback]411318[/snapback]</div>

If I recall correctly, it took about 8 weeks to receive my PST refund when I filed it last summer.

You'll get your rebate.

The rebate is a refund of the PST paid, and is not limited to the number of times the car is sold.

Think of it this way, you've paid the PST up front when you titled the car from the end of the lease. The Ontario government is only sending you a cheque for what they've collected from you.

The rebate, from my experience, took 3 to 4 weeks. I've done the rebate for both a used Honda Insight, as well as my imported Prius, both of which I was able to get a rebate for the amount of PST paid, up to $2k. Both my claims were done on 06, and both took under 30 days.

YMMV.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(vkykam @ Mar 26 2007, 09:01 PM) [snapback]412644[/snapback]</div>

I hope for Eug's benefit that it does work out.

Also the feds just announced an additional rebate of up to $2K off the GST for fuel efficient vehicles, which of course the Prius qualifies for. Unfortunately, only new vehicles purchased after March 20, 2007 qualify.

They also ding the guzzlers for up to $4K.

Canada Budget 2007

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(vkykam @ Mar 26 2007, 10:01 PM) [snapback]412644[/snapback]</div>

Sounds good to me. Thanks for the encouragement.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sarge @ Mar 27 2007, 04:25 PM) [snapback]413116[/snapback]</div>

Damn those bureaucrats. They really trying to make me buy a new Prius aren't they?

For a Prius purchased in Ontario that means whopping $4000 off.

Maybe I'll get a new Prius once a redesigned model comes out, but I was originally planning on keeping this car at least until 2010.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Eug @ Mar 29 2007, 12:16 PM) [snapback]414236[/snapback]</div>

Sounds like a plan; I also generally keep my cars long term as well, at least as long as it remains practical for my needs and economically feasible (i.e. until the monthly maintenance costs approach the monthly payment of a new car). With the mileage I do, I expect to get at least 300K KMs out of it, which should be about 7.5 years or so... :huh:

Though I doubt the tax credits will be a long term incentive. Would be nice if it they are though! B)

It's 3 months now and I'm still waiting.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Eug @ May 25 2007, 11:14 AM) [snapback]449793[/snapback]</div>

Hi Eug... hmmm... 3 months, it's not looking good, though it is possible they are backlogged with increased claims since the feds introduced the additional credit a few months back...? :huh: Hey, I'm looking at the bright side for you...

You may want to try calling Ministry of Finance (?) to inquire about your application, as you should at least receive some sort of accepted/denied result to your application.

Good luck!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sarge @ May 25 2007, 01:04 PM) [snapback]449889[/snapback]</div>

Well, I called them, and they say they have no evidence that the application was ever received. <_<

I think they're just overrun with paperwork. I'm checking my previous correspondence, and they did the same thing last time. I submitted one in Jan one year, and by May that year I still hadn't received anything. I had to resend copies of my documentation, and then eventually I got my money (and original documentation) back. So, I've done that again. I've resubmitted copies of all of documentation for this current application too.

People MAKE SURE YOU HAVE MULTIPLE COPIES OF ALL YOUR ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. The good news though is that now they are accepting copies. I wonder if they have been losing too many originals...

P.S. Not that the person on the phone is a sales tax lawyer or anything, but he thinks I may in fact be eligible for the additional rebate, as we hoped/expected. We shall see.

I got the rebate cheque today. w00t!!! B)

Actually, they had initially denied the rebate but then upon re-review (when they received my paperwork again the second time - because they had originally lost my first batch of paperwork), they decided to grant me the rebate after all. I guess it pays to be persistent.

BTW, they were even more generous than I had asked for on the application. It turns out I had mistakenly claimed the GST amount instead of the PST. So, they corrected that and refunded me the PST instead... and the PST amount is significantly higher.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Eug @ Jul 20 2007, 10:46 PM) [snapback]482616[/snapback]</div>

Congrats, Eug! That is awesome news. Nice that the government surprised you with the bonus too.