The IRS said Friday it is giving auto dealers a temporary extension for reporting the sale of certain clean energy vehicles whose purchase makes the buyer eligible for a tax credit.
Seller reporting on IRS Energy Credits Online (IRS ECO) portal became available on Jan. 1. To provide dealers and the IRS more time to submit and intake seller reports into this new system, the IRS is temporarily extending the time for “time-of-sale reports” for clean vehicle sales, which normally must be submitted to the IRS within three days of the sale.
This extension means dealers and sellers have until Jan. 19 to submit time-of-sale reports for vehicles sold Jan. 1 through Jan. 16.
Clean vehicle dealers and sellers must use the portal to register with the IRS and to submit time-of-sale reports. Licensed dealers can also register to receive advance payments to offset the amount of a tax credit that was applied toward a customer’s purchase price.
In 2024, car-buyers have the option to transfer their clean vehicle credits to state-licensed dealers at the time of purchase instead of waiting to take the credit on their income tax return. Clean vehicle credits are worth up to $7,500 but the number of eligible vehicle models has fallen to due to eligibility rules that exclude battery components from China.
A list of 2024 eligible vehicles can be found on the U.S. Department of Energy’s website here. All time-of-sale reports for eligible vehicles placed in service in 2024 and forward must be submitted through the IRS’ EOC portal.
“While the IRS fine-tunes this new system and the intake of time-of-sale reports, dealers and sellers should continue to submit time-of-reports using IRS ECO,” the IRS said in an announcement on its website. “The IRS is committed to resolving any issues facing manufacturers, dealers and sellers navigating the IRS’ new ECO tool.”
The IRS will hold “online office hours” to assist dealers and sellers with questions about time-of-sale reporting. These events will be held from 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 9, Jan.10, Jan. 11, Jan.16, Jan.17, and Jan. 18. To register go here.
See Publication 5867-A Time of Sale User Reporting Guide on the IRS website for more information about the reporting requirements for clean energy vehicle sales.
