The federal tax credit for used electric vehicles is gone. The previously-owned clean vehicle credit (IRS Section 25E), worth up to $4,000 off a qualifying used EV, expired on September 30, 2025 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Any used EV bought after that date does not qualify, and no new credit has replaced it.

For everyone shopping now, the federal credit is no longer part of the math.

But it isn't the whole story. A number of states still help used EV buyers, used EV prices have come down sharply, and the case for going electric on the used market is arguably stronger now than when the credit existed. Here's where things actually stand.

What the federal credit was, and how much it delivered

The used EV credit launched January 1, 2023 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. It gave qualifying buyers up to $4,000 (or 30% of the sale price, whichever was less) on a used EV costing $25,000 or less, bought from a registered dealer, subject to income limits.

Starting January 1, 2024, buyers could take the credit as an upfront discount at the point of sale instead of waiting for tax season. That change is what made it bite.

By the numbers, the program moved a lot of metal before it ended. As of October 2024, the Treasury Department reported that consumers had saved more than $2 billion in upfront costs on over 300,000 new and used clean vehicles since the point-of-sale option opened that January. Roughly 250,000 of those were new EVs and the balance used. The take rate told the story: more than 85% of used EV buyers who qualified chose to transfer the credit to the dealer for an instant discount rather than wait. Over 14,000 dealers registered to offer it.

That's the backdrop for why its expiration matters, and why the rest of this guide is about what's left.

State programs that still help used EV buyers in 2026

With the federal credit gone, state programs are now the main source of help, and most of the meaningful ones are income-qualified. Programs change and funding runs out, so confirm current status and your own eligibility on the official page before you count on anything. Verified as of June 2026:

  • California — The Driving Clean Assistance Program (DCAP) and Clean Cars 4 All offer income-qualified buyers grants toward a new or used EV, often several thousand dollars and sometimes more when you retire an older gas vehicle. Many California utilities also run used-EV rebates (commonly $1,000–$4,000 for income-eligible customers). Start at the state's incentive finder: driveclean.ca.gov.
  • Colorado — The Vehicle Exchange Colorado (VXC) program gives income-qualified residents a point-of-sale rebate of up to $6,000 on a used EV when they trade in an older or high-emitting vehicle. (Colorado's main Innovative Motor Vehicle Credit applies to new EVs only.) Details: energyoffice.colorado.gov/vehicle-exchange-colorado.
  • Massachusetts — MOR-EV includes a used-EV rebate for income-qualifying residents, applied at participating dealerships, with an income adder on top. Funded through 2027. Details: mass.gov/info-details/mor-ev-rebate-program.
  • Pennsylvania — The Alternative Fuel Vehicle Rebate covers used EVs (final price $45,000 or less), with an extra rebate for lower-income applicants. The current funding round runs through June 30, 2026 or until funds are gone. Details: pa.gov/agencies/dep — Alternative Fuel Vehicle Rebates.
  • Oregon — The Charge Ahead Rebate offers low- and moderate-income residents up to $5,000 on a new or used EV. It's currently suspended for lack of funds but expects to reopen in summer 2026; eligible households can prequalify now. Details: oregon.gov — Oregon Clean Vehicle Rebate.

Two notes on states you may have heard mentioned for used EVs:

  • Illinois runs an EV rebate that covers used vehicles, but the most recent funding cycle closed May 31, 2026, so it isn't accepting applications at the moment. It has historically reopened with new fiscal-year funding, so check before assuming it's available: epa.illinois.gov — Electric Vehicle Rebates.
  • Washington's used-EV help has ended for now. Both the EV Instant Rebate (funds exhausted) and the used-EV sales-tax exemption (expired July 31, 2025 for purchases) are no longer available to new buyers.

Beyond these, check your local utility and your state energy office — smaller used-EV and home-charging rebates exist in many areas and change often.

The bigger point: used EV prices have come down

Here's what shifts the math even without a federal credit: used EVs are simply cheaper than they were.

The average used EV listing price was $34,653 in March 2026, down 6.1% year over year, according to Cox Automotive. The price gap between a used EV and a comparable used gas car — over $10,000 as recently as early 2023 — has narrowed to around $1,000, approaching parity for the first time. Buyers have noticed: used EV sales rose about 12% year over year in Q1 2026 even as new EV sales fell sharply after the credit expired.

Recurrent's own listing data tells the same story at the affordable end. In our spring 2026 snapshot of used EV listings, about a third were priced under $25,000 — the same threshold the old federal credit used. The cars anchoring that affordable tier are familiar ones: the Chevrolet Bolt EV (around $17,800 median), the Nissan Leaf (around $15,800), the Hyundai Kona Electric (around $22,300), and the Volkswagen ID.4 (around $23,600). A used Tesla Model 3, the highest-volume used EV on the market, sits in the mid-$20,000s.

None of this means a tax credit wouldn't have helped — $4,000 is $4,000. But the depreciation that makes used EVs look like a bargain is real, and it's doing some of the work the credit used to do. If you were waiting for the credit to make a used EV affordable, the price drop may have already gotten you most of the way there.

The bottom line

The federal used EV tax credit was a meaningful program that helped hundreds of thousands of buyers before it expired in September 2025. It's gone now. But depending on where you live and what you earn, a state program may still cut your cost, and used EV prices have fallen enough that the overall case for buying used is in good shape. Check your state's official page, check your utility, and run the five-year cost comparison against a comparable gas car before you decide.