What is the Section 30C tax credit?
Section 30C, the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit, pays back 30% of EV charger hardware and installation costs: up to $1,000 for homeowners and up to $100,000 per port for businesses. It expires June 30, 2026, under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of July 2025, and no extension is pending. The charger must be installed and in service by the deadline, and the property must sit in an eligible census tract. Claim it on IRS Form 8911.
Who qualifies before the deadline?
Three conditions, all required.
- In service by June 30, 2026. Installed and working, not ordered, not scheduled. With Atlanta installers booking 1 to 2 weeks out for standard jobs, mid-June orders are the last realistic window.
- Eligible census tract. The home or business must sit in a low-income community or non-urban tract as defined for 30C. Metro Atlanta contains both qualifying and non-qualifying tracts, sometimes street by street. Check your address against the DOE/IRS 30C mapping tool before counting the money.
- Qualifying costs. Charger hardware and installation labor count. For homeowners the credit is 30% of those costs up to $1,000.
What happens after June 30, 2026?
The credit drops to $0. No phase-down, no grace period for orders in progress, and as of June 2026 no replacement legislation is pending. The same bill already ended the 30D new-EV and 25E used-EV purchase credits on September 30, 2025, so the charger credit is the last federal EV incentive standing, and only for 19 more days as of this writing.
What incentives survive in Georgia?
| Program | Worth | Who it serves | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia Power Level 2 charger rebate | $150, one per household | Residential customers, wall or pedestal-mounted Level 2 chargers | Through December 31, 2026, while funds last; claim within 6 months of install |
| Georgia Power plug-in EV rate plan | Discounted overnight electricity, 11pm to 7am | Residential EV owners | Active, no announced end date |
| Georgia Power Make Ready Infrastructure Program | Up to $300,000 per qualifying project | Businesses and multifamily properties installing 6+ ports or a DC fast charger | Active; publicly accessible chargers since 2023 |
The rate plan is the quiet one that matters most. A one-time credit caps at $1,000; cheap overnight electricity compounds every night you own the car.
Is a home charger still worth it without the credit?
For a daily driver, yes. Here is the shape of it: a $1,750 install nets out at $1,075 with the credit and $1,600 without it (the full math is in the cost guide). That $525 difference is real money once. But public DC fast charging costs 3 to 5 times more per kilowatt-hour than Georgia Power's overnight rate, every single charge. A 12,000-mile-a-year commuter recovers the install cost in a few years either way. The deadline changes the timing argument, not the ownership argument.
Why this page exists
Nearly every article about EV charger costs written before mid-2026 leads with the federal credit, and all of them go stale on July 1. We built this guide to answer the question Atlanta drivers will actually be asking after the sunset: what does charging cost now, and what still pays. We update it as programs change; the date stamp at the top is real.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still get the federal EV charger tax credit?
Only if your charger is in service by June 30, 2026, and your address sits in an eligible census tract. With 1 to 2 week installer lead times in Atlanta, mid-June orders are the last realistic window.
How do I check if my address qualifies?
Run your address through the DOE/IRS 30C census tract mapping tool. Metro Atlanta qualifies tract by tract, not citywide. Confirm before you count the credit.
Is a home charger still worth it without the credit?
Yes, for daily drivers. The recurring savings from overnight home charging versus public fast charging (3 to 5 times more per kilowatt-hour) outweigh the one-time $525 to $1,000 the credit was worth.
What happened to the other federal EV credits?
The 30D new-vehicle and 25E used-vehicle credits ended September 30, 2025. The 30C charger credit ends June 30, 2026. No federal replacement is pending as of June 2026.
Does the deadline apply to businesses too?
Yes. The commercial credit, up to $100,000 per port, ends the same day. After that, Georgia Power's Make Ready program is the main funding source for Atlanta commercial and multifamily charging.