Chevy, Saturn Qualify for Tax Credit

The IRS has certified the Chevrolet Malibu and Saturn Aura models for the hybrid tax credit. The 2008 models of these hybrid cars qualify for a maximum tax credit of $1,300. For the full announcement, see GM’s 2008 Chevrolet and Saturn Certified As Qualified Hybrid Vehicles (IR-2007-156) on the IRS Web site.

The hybrid tax credit is a non-refundable credit for purchasing a qualifying vehicle. Among the eligible vehicles are hybrid, electric, and natural-gas powered cars and trucks. One drawback to the hybrid credit is that the credit must be taken last after you've applied all other tax credits to your return. Planning around this limitation is important since the tax code does not allow a carryover of any unused hybrid credits. Also, the dollar amount of the credit starts to phase out, or be reduced, once a manufacturer sells 60,000 qualifying vehicles. Right now, the Toyota and Lexus models are in the final stages of their phaseout period.

For car information, Aaron Gold has pictures of the 2008 Chevy Malibu and his colleague BJ Killeen test drove the 2007 model Saturn Aura.