Just had an “aha!” moment digging through state tax rules and clean energy guidance and I’m wondering if anyone here has actually tried this in the wild: Some states exempt “renewable energy systems” or “energy storage systems” from sales tax and/or property tax. With bidirectional EVs and UL 9741/IEEE 1547-compliant chargers getting real, could an EV that’s enrolled in V2H/V2G or a utility demand response program be treated (at least partially) as energy storage for tax purposes? I’m thinking not the car itself as a “battery” for sales tax, but: Sales tax exemption on the bidirectional EVSE and related hardware by classifying it as energy storage/renewable energy equipment. Property tax abatement on the “system” where the car battery is the storage medium and the charger/inverter is the fixed asset. For businesses, stacking Section 48 ITC on the bidirectional charger while still getting the 30D clean vehicle credit on the car. Any gotchas or recapture risk if the vehicle is dual-use or business use >50%? Has anyone: Shown a utility interconnection or demand response enrollment letter to a state revenue department to support an energy-storage exemption? Got a county assessor to carve out the bidirectional setup as exempt energy property, even though the “battery” rolls away? Dealt with dual-use rules where equipment is partly for home backup and partly for mobility, and how they allocated costs? Seen guidance on whether V2H-only (islanded backup) counts the same as V2G (export) for tax treatment? Bonus curiosities: In states adding EV road-usage fees to replace fuel taxes, any pilot programs that let V2G participants offset those fees because they’re providing grid services? For fleets, experiences claiming state/local sales tax exemptions tied to “zero-emission commercial vehicles” when the vehicle also participates in demand response? If you’ve actually filed and won (or been denied), what documents did you submit? Utility enrollment, UL/IEEE compliance sheets, line diagrams, installer affidavit? I’m new to the tax nuance here, but it feels like bidirectional EVs blur categories in a way policy hasn’t fully caught up with yet. Would love to hear real-world data points and which states/counties are most receptive.

Short version: policy isn’t there yet for treating the car itself as “storage,” and assessors/revenue folks care a lot about “permanently affixed” equipment. NY: Got RPTL §487 approved for the fixed bits (hardwired bidirectional inverter/EVSE, transfer switch, gateway). County explicitly excluded the vehicle. They wanted the electrical permit/final, single-line, cut sheets showing UL 9741/1741-SB, and an installer letter calling it “electric energy storage equipment.” V2H-only was fine; no utility interconnection required because the exempt items were the stationary components. MA: Town allowed the exemption under Ch. 59 §5 Cl. 45 only when paired with PV; rejected when “the battery” was an EV. Same “affixed to real property” logic. TX: Sales tax exemption only went through when the bidirectional gear was invoiced as part of a solar “device” (151.318). Standalone V2H was denied. Property tax under §11.27 was limited to the fixed gear; car excluded. Federal: Don’t try to 48-ITC the charger as “storage.” That drew pushback. 30C for the EVSE and 30D/45W for the vehicle are clean; no double-dip on the same costs; 48 recapture risk if you try to characterize mobile storage. Road fees: Haven’t seen offsets for V2G. Only per‑mile alternatives (UT/OR) unrelated to grid services. Documents that actually helped: detailed invoice with cost breakout (stationary vs vehicle), spec sheets calling out “energy storage/power conditioning,” single-line, permit/final, interconnection letter if exporting. The winning angle was always: “exempt stationary energy property,” never “the car is the battery.”

Ev Vehicle Tax Exemption

chargemaster

Just had an “aha!” moment digging through state tax rules and clean energy guidance and I’m wondering if anyone here has actually tried this in the wild:

Some states exempt “renewable energy systems” or “energy storage systems” from sales tax and/or property tax. With bidirectional EVs and UL 9741/IEEE 1547-compliant chargers getting real, could an EV that’s enrolled in V2H/V2G or a utility demand response program be treated (at least partially) as energy storage for tax purposes? I’m thinking not the car itself as a “battery” for sales tax, but:

Sales tax exemption on the bidirectional EVSE and related hardware by classifying it as energy storage/renewable energy equipment.
Property tax abatement on the “system” where the car battery is the storage medium and the charger/inverter is the fixed asset.
For businesses, stacking Section 48 ITC on the bidirectional charger while still getting the 30D clean vehicle credit on the car. Any gotchas or recapture risk if the vehicle is dual-use or business use >50%?

Has anyone:

Shown a utility interconnection or demand response enrollment letter to a state revenue department to support an energy-storage exemption?
Got a county assessor to carve out the bidirectional setup as exempt energy property, even though the “battery” rolls away?
Dealt with dual-use rules where equipment is partly for home backup and partly for mobility, and how they allocated costs?
Seen guidance on whether V2H-only (islanded backup) counts the same as V2G (export) for tax treatment?

Bonus curiosities:

In states adding EV road-usage fees to replace fuel taxes, any pilot programs that let V2G participants offset those fees because they’re providing grid services?
For fleets, experiences claiming state/local sales tax exemptions tied to “zero-emission commercial vehicles” when the vehicle also participates in demand response?

If you’ve actually filed and won (or been denied), what documents did you submit? Utility enrollment, UL/IEEE compliance sheets, line diagrams, installer affidavit? I’m new to the tax nuance here, but it feels like bidirectional EVs blur categories in a way policy hasn’t fully caught up with yet. Would love to hear real-world data points and which states/counties are most receptive.

ElectroMaster

Short version: policy isn’t there yet for treating the car itself as “storage,” and assessors/revenue folks care a lot about “permanently affixed” equipment.

NY: Got RPTL §487 approved for the fixed bits (hardwired bidirectional inverter/EVSE, transfer switch, gateway). County explicitly excluded the vehicle. They wanted the electrical permit/final, single-line, cut sheets showing UL 9741/1741-SB, and an installer letter calling it “electric energy storage equipment.” V2H-only was fine; no utility interconnection required because the exempt items were the stationary components.
MA: Town allowed the exemption under Ch. 59 §5 Cl. 45 only when paired with PV; rejected when “the battery” was an EV. Same “affixed to real property” logic.
TX: Sales tax exemption only went through when the bidirectional gear was invoiced as part of a solar “device” (151.318). Standalone V2H was denied. Property tax under §11.27 was limited to the fixed gear; car excluded.
Federal: Don’t try to 48-ITC the charger as “storage.” That drew pushback. 30C for the EVSE and 30D/45W for the vehicle are clean; no double-dip on the same costs; 48 recapture risk if you try to characterize mobile storage.
Road fees: Haven’t seen offsets for V2G. Only per‑mile alternatives (UT/OR) unrelated to grid services.

Documents that actually helped: detailed invoice with cost breakout (stationary vs vehicle), spec sheets calling out “energy storage/power conditioning,” single-line, permit/final, interconnection letter if exporting. The winning angle was always: “exempt stationary energy property,” never “the car is the battery.”