The honest answer changed in 2026, and plenty of sites have not caught up. The federal credit for home chargers ended on 30 June 2026. What remains is state and utility programs, and those vary by address rather than by state.
EV rebates and permits: the federal credit has ended
Section 30C, the federal credit that covered thirty per cent of a home charger up to a thousand dollars, expired on 30 June 2026. Even before that it only applied to addresses in low-income and non-urban census tracts, so a good many households never qualified for it in the first place. Commercial EV charging sits under different rules again.
We say so plainly because the alternative is letting somebody budget around money that is not there. If another quote is still promising a federal credit on a home install, that is worth asking about directly, and permits and certificates covers the paperwork that programs actually want.
What remains is state programs and utility programs, and utility programs in particular are drawn by service territory rather than by city limits. Two houses on the same street can differ. We check yours rather than pointing you at a national map, and level 2 charger installation sets out the underlying cost the rebate would apply to.
Fresh install
How it runs
The rebate and permit position in Buffalo
Check your address
Utility programs follow service territory rather than city limits, so it is your address that decides, not your town.
Tell you plainly
Including when the answer is nothing. Budgeting around money that is not there helps nobody.
Permit as its own line
$150 to $400, filed before work starts, and named separately on the quote.
Paperwork prepared
Where a program needs the certificate as evidence, we prepare it rather than pointing you at a website.
The permit
EV rebates and permits: a charger circuit is permitted work
A dedicated high-amperage circuit is new distribution, so it needs a permit and an inspection. That runs $150 to $400 in most jurisdictions, appears as its own line on our quote, and is filed before work starts rather than afterwards. Figures are example ranges.
Some utility programs require the permit and the inspection certificate as evidence before they pay, which is another reason not to skip it. Permits and certificates covers what the process produces and who ends up holding the document.
Where a service upgrade forms part of the job, that is separately permitted and separately priced, and an electrical panel upgrade sets out what it costs so you can see both numbers rather than one blended figure. For a business installing chargers for staff or customers the position is different again, and commercial EV charging covers what applies there.
No. The federal credit for home chargers ended on 30 June 2026, and before that it only applied to addresses in low-income and non-urban census tracts. Anyone still promising it is working from old information.
State and utility programs, and utility ones are drawn by service territory rather than by city. Two houses on the same street can differ, so we check your address rather than a map.
Yes. A dedicated high-amperage circuit is new distribution. It runs $150 to $400 in most jurisdictions and appears as its own line on the quote.
Often, yes. Several programs want the inspection certificate as evidence before paying, which is another reason skipping it costs more than it saves.
Where a program requires the certificate or an installer declaration, yes. We prepare it rather than pointing you at a website.
Almost always later. Utility programs pay the homeowner after the work is inspected, so budget the full amount and treat the rebate as a refund rather than a discount.
Customer reviews
What Buffalo customers say about the EV rebate paperwork
