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New York Energy Resource Bureau
An independent homeowner guide to NY energy incentives
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NY State Alternative Fuels and Electric Vehicle Recharging Property Credit

Administered by: New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Status: Ended in 2026 (credit expired for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026; carryforwards continue) Verified: May 27, 2026 against Alternative fuels and electric vehicle recharging property credit, NYS Tax Source quality: Primary

What it is

The NY State Alternative Fuels and Electric Vehicle Recharging Property Credit is a business credit, not a residential one. It pays 50% of the cost of installing EV charging equipment or alternative fuel refueling equipment in New York, capped at $5,000 per property. To qualify, the property has to be used 50% or more during the tax year in a trade or business carried on in New York State.

If you installed a home EV charger at your personal residence and you do not use that charger in a trade or business, this credit does not apply to you. The 50%-business-use threshold is the gating test, and a typical homeowner driveway charger does not meet it. The page you are reading exists in part to make that distinction clear, because the credit's name reads like it could apply to home installs and it does not.

The credit was effective for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2013, and before January 1, 2026. Tax year 2025 was the last year a qualifying placed-in-service date could earn a new credit. If you installed eligible business property in 2025, you claim the credit on your 2025 return. If you have unused credit from a prior year, you carry it forward.

Who qualifies

  • You are an individual, sole proprietor, partner in a partnership, shareholder in an S corporation, or a beneficiary of an estate or trust filing a New York State personal income tax return. Corporations file Form CT-637 instead of IT-637.
  • The refueling or recharging property is located in New York State.
  • The property is used 50% or more during the tax year in a trade or business carried on in New York State.
  • The property was placed in service during a tax year beginning on or after January 1, 2013 and before January 1, 2026.
  • The cost was not paid from the proceeds of grants awarded before January 1, 2015.
  • The credit is nonrefundable. Unused credit carries forward to future tax years indefinitely.
  • A homeowner's personal-use EV charger at a primary or secondary residence does not qualify. The 50% business-use test is the reason.

What you get

  • 50% of the cost of qualifying property, including the labor needed to install it, less any grant-funded portion.
  • Capped at $5,000 per property.
  • Unused credit carries forward indefinitely against future NY state income tax liability. The credit is not refundable.
  • Claimed on Form IT-637 for individuals and passthrough recipients, or Form CT-637 for corporations.
  • Recapture applies if the property ceases to be qualifying property before the end of its recovery period.

These figures come directly from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.

How to apply

  1. Confirm the equipment is qualifying property: located in New York, used 50% or more in a New York trade or business, and placed in service during a tax year beginning before January 1, 2026. Keep itemized invoices showing equipment cost and installation labor.
  2. When you file your NY state income tax return for the year the property is placed in service, complete Form IT-637 (Alternative Fuels and Electric Vehicle Recharging Property Credit) and attach it to your return. Corporations file Form CT-637.
  3. Enter the credit on Form IT-201 (or IT-203 for part-year or nonresident filers) per the IT-637 instructions.
  4. If the credit exceeds your tax liability, carry the unused balance forward. There is no expiration on the carryforward, but track the running balance yourself; the state does not.
  5. If the property's business use drops below 50% before the end of the recovery period, compute and report the recapture on the year's IT-637 per the instructions.

How this stacks with other programs

  • For homeowners installing a residential EV charger: This state credit does not apply to you. The federal Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit (§30C) historically covered up to 30% of a residential charger, capped at $1,000, but only in eligible census tracts and subject to a hard placed-in-service deadline. Verify current §30C status with the IRS before assuming federal coverage. See Federal Residential Energy Credits: Program Ended for the residential clean energy credit (§25D), which does not cover EV chargers but is sometimes confused with §30C.
  • For homeowners buying the car itself: The Drive Clean Rebate covers up to $2,000 off the purchase or lease of a new plug-in EV. That program is separate from any charger credit and applies to the vehicle, not the charging equipment.
  • For businesses, workplaces, and public-use stations: This state credit stacks against utility make-ready programs and federal §30C if your project is in an eligible tract. Utility make-ready dollars typically reduce your out-of-pocket cost first; the 50% state credit is then calculated on the net cost, subject to the $5,000 cap per property.
  • With grants: Costs paid from the proceeds of grants awarded before January 1, 2015 are excluded from the base. Grants awarded on or after that date reduce the base before the 50% is applied.

What to ask your contractor

  • What is the exact placed-in-service date going to be, and is it before January 1, 2026 in a tax year that began before that date? If the answer is no, the state credit is off the table.
  • Can you provide an itemized invoice that separates qualifying equipment and installation labor from any non-qualifying work on the same job? IT-637 applies only to qualifying property.
  • For a mixed-use site, can you document the business-use percentage of the charger? A site that runs less than 50% business use does not qualify, and you need defensible records if audited.
  • Are any grants funding part of this install, and when were they awarded? Pre-2015 grant-funded costs are excluded from the credit base.
  • What is the equipment's recovery period for recapture purposes? If you sell the property or change its use, you need to know the recapture window.

Common pitfalls

  • Assuming residential applies. The most common mistake is a homeowner expecting this credit for a home charger. It is not residential. The 50% business-use test disqualifies a typical home install.
  • Missing the sunset. Property placed in service in a tax year beginning on or after January 1, 2026 does not qualify, even if the contractor quoted you the credit. The placed-in-service date and the tax year both matter.
  • Mixing up forms. Individuals and passthrough recipients file IT-637. C corporations file CT-637. S corporation shareholders receive their share on a K-1 and file IT-637.
  • Forgetting recapture. If the property's business use drops below 50% before the end of the recovery period, part of the credit comes back. This is a quiet audit risk for sold-off charging assets.
  • Ignoring the carryforward. The credit is nonrefundable. If your 2025 liability cannot absorb the full $5,000 per property, the balance carries forward and you keep claiming it on future returns until consumed.
  • Double-counting grants. Costs reimbursed by grants awarded before January 1, 2015 cannot be in the base. For later grants, reduce the base before computing the 50%.

Important dates

The credit was effective for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2013, and before January 1, 2026. The 2025 tax year is the last in which a new placement can earn a credit. Returns for 2025 are filed in 2026, so IT-637 will appear on personal income tax returns this filing season for property placed in service during 2025. Carryforwards from prior years and from 2025 continue indefinitely on future returns. The credit description page at tax.ny.gov was last updated December 6, 2024; the IT-637 instructions page was last updated December 12, 2025.

Source

NYSERB.com is an independent research site. It is not affiliated with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, the State of New York, or any utility. Verify all program details and incentive amounts directly with the NY State Department of Taxation and Finance before making any financial decision.

Verified against www.tax.ny.gov, www.tax.ny.gov on May 27, 2026.

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