The federal tax credit for buying a hybrid vehicle from Toyota will be cut in half starting on October 1.
The tax credit of $3,150 for buying a Prius will be halved after September 30 because the federal government's labyrinthian code reduces the credit three months after a company (in this case Toyota) sells 60,000 hybrids. Toyota dealers will likely be even busier during this quarter as consumers strive to place their orders before the leaves and tax credits fall.
The drop in the tax credit also applies to Lexus (owned by Toyota) hybrids as well. Starting in April of 2007, the tax credit is lowered to 25 percent for Toyota vehicles.
Neither Ford nor Honda are close to reaching the 60,000 vehicle limit with their hybrids, so the tax credit remains intact for the foreseeable future.
Toyota will double the number of hybrid models by 2010, is also working on a plug-in hybrid, according to Autoblog.
Found via the Mercury News.
