New Jersey EV incentives, tax credits and rebates

Current EV incentives in New Jersey

New Jersey offers a trio of compelling EV purchase incentives and one decent EV charger incentive.

When it comes to buying an EV in New Jersey, the state doesn’t charge sales tax (6.625%) on new or used EV sales, including leases, which could save you several thousand dollars right off the bat. Plus, the Charge Up New Jersey program could save you $4,000 on your EV purchase and another $250 on your charger install, but you’ll have to act fast before the program’s annual funding dries up.

Lastly, the Green Pass Discount could save you another $100 or more per year on tolls, depending on how often you hit the Turnpike.

So let’s break it all down, starting with the EV purchase incentives.

Electric vehicle purchase incentives in New Jersey

In addition to the pair of federal tax credits, New Jersey has three EV incentives at the state level as of July 2024.

Let’s start at the federal level and then zoom in to the state and city levels from there.

• The federal EV tax credit offers a tax credit of up to $7,500 on a new EV purchase up to $80,000 and a tax credit of up to $4,000 on a pre-owned EV purchase up to $25,000. There are income limits and the list of eligible vehicles is narrowing, but it’s still worth looking into since it can make a serious dent in your EV budget.

For more details and a list of vehicles that qualify for full or partial credit, check out our full feature on how the EV tax credit works.

Now, let’s look at credits that are state-specific:

• Charge Up New Jersey offers a rebate of up to $4,000 on the purchase or lease of a brand-new EV and up to $250 on an EV charger. You’ll get $25 back for every EPA-rated mile of all-electric range, meaning any vehicle with more than 160 miles of range should qualify for the full $4,000. Vehicles must also be under $45,000 MSRP to qualify for the full rebate. Vehicles priced between $45,000 and $55,000 may qualify for a smaller rebate of $1,500.

Historically, Charge Up New Jersey begins taking applications in July and runs out of funding in November. “That means EV shoppers in New Jersey should absolutely be looking to buy or lease during the months of July, August, September and October,” a Polestar dealer in New Jersey told ConsumerAffairs.

• The Electric Vehicle Tax Exemption is exactly what it sounds like. As of May 2004, New Jersey no longer charges a “sales and use tax” on the sale, rental or lease of zero-emission vehicles. For a list of eligible models, click here.

Not having to pay the state’s 6.625% sales tax means you could save roughly $3,313 on the average price of a new EV (about $50,000) or roughly $1,988 on the average price of a used EV (about $30,000).

• The Green Pass Discount offers drivers of select low-emissions vehicles a 10% discount on off-peak New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway tolls. While this may only amount to $0.45 in savings each way, that could quickly add up to $200-plus in annual savings if you already pay these tolls on a daily basis.

All things considered, if you purchase a new, $40,000 EV in New Jersey, you could save:

• $7,500 thanks to the federal tax credits
• $4,000 thanks to Charge Up New Jersey
• $2,650 in sales taxes
• $25 per year in tolls (or much more if you’re a regular commuter)

That’s a combined $14,175 in savings or 35.4% of the vehicle’s MSRP. Here’s a summary of each incentive and its maximum benefit:

» LEARN: What are tax credits?

EV charging equipment incentives in New Jersey

As mentioned, the state of New Jersey offers just one EV charging incentive as of October 2024. As part of the Charge Up New Jersey Program, you could save up to $250 off the cost of a Level 2 charger at home. This could reduce the total cost of an installation by roughly 10% to 20%.

Beyond that, you may find additional rebates and discounts with your local home energy provider. PSE&G is the only New Jersey-based utilities provider we could find that currently offers a discount on Level 2 charger installs. However, there may be more and it’s certainly worth visiting your current energy provider’s website to see what green discounts are available.

How much can EV incentives save you in New Jersey?

Now that we’ve covered New Jersey incentives for both EV purchases and charger installs, let’s put it all together to see how much you could potentially save on a new or used EV purchase — including the federal tax credits.

Keep in mind that these are just ballpark figures and that not every vehicle will qualify for every credit at all times of the year. But if the stars should align (and you buy between July and October), you could be in for some serious net savings if you go green in the Garden State.

Example savings with New Jersey EV incentives