The Rivian tax credit is no longer available for new purchases or leases. The federal clean vehicle credit under Section 30D and the commercial clean vehicle credit under Section 45W both ended for vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025.1Internal Revenue Service. FAQs for Modification of Sections 25C, 25D, 25E, 30C, 30D, 45L, 45W, and 179D Under the One Big Beautiful Bill A narrow transition rule still lets buyers who signed a binding contract and made a payment on or before that date claim the credit, even if the R1T or R1S is delivered later. On the models that qualified, the credit was $3,750, not the full $7,500.
What Ended on September 30, 2025
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed on July 4, 2025, accelerated the end of the clean vehicle credits. Both the Section 30D credit (up to $7,500 on a purchase) and the Section 45W commercial credit (the mechanism behind most EV lease discounts) stopped applying to vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025.2Internal Revenue Service. Clean Vehicle Tax Credits
For anyone buying or leasing a Rivian today, that closes the door. Price, income, where the vehicle was built, how the battery was sourced — none of those factors matter once the credit itself no longer exists for the acquisition.
The Transition Rule for Pre-October 2025 Orders
If your Rivian is being delivered after September 30, 2025, you can still claim the credit, but only if you acquired the vehicle on or before that date. The IRS treats acquisition as requiring both of the following:2Internal Revenue Service. Clean Vehicle Tax Credits
- A binding written purchase or order agreement signed on or before September 30, 2025.
- A payment applied to the vehicle — deposit, down payment, or trade-in — on or before that same date.
Both are required. A nonbinding reservation, or a fully refundable placeholder deposit without a signed contract, likely does not satisfy the rule. Pull your paperwork and confirm both boxes are checked before assuming the credit will land on your return.
The same rule governs Section 45W. A leasing company must have acquired the Rivian on or before September 30, 2025, to pass the commercial credit through on a lease that begins after the cutoff.3Internal Revenue Service. Commercial Clean Vehicle Credit
How Much the Credit Was Worth on a Rivian
Rivian never qualified for the full $7,500. Section 30D split the credit into two $3,750 halves tied to separate battery requirements: one for the sourcing of critical minerals like lithium and cobalt, the other for where battery components were manufactured or assembled. Rivian consistently met one half but not both.
For the 2025 model year, only the R1T Dual Large appeared on the IRS qualified vehicle list, at $3,750. The R1S was not listed for 2025. The 2024 model year had broader coverage — several R1T and R1S trims with Dual-Motor and Quad-Motor drivetrains — but every qualifying configuration was capped at $3,750.4Internal Revenue Service. Clean Vehicle Credit 30D Qualified Vehicle List
MSRP Cap Still Applies
Even under the transition rule, the price cap does not go away. For SUVs, pickups, and vans — the categories covering both the R1S and R1T — manufacturer’s suggested retail price cannot exceed $80,000.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 30D – Clean Vehicle Credit The cap counts the base price and factory-installed options, but destination charges, dealer fees, and taxes fall outside it.
Higher trims, performance packages, and the largest battery options push many Rivian builds past $80,000 and out of eligibility entirely. Check the MSRP printed on your window sticker against that ceiling before filing.
Income Limits Still Apply
A buyer claiming the credit under the transition rule must also meet the Section 30D income limits. Eligibility uses modified adjusted gross income (MAGI), and you can rely on whichever is more favorable — the year the vehicle is delivered or the year before:5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 30D – Clean Vehicle Credit
- Married filing jointly: $300,000 or less.
- Head of household: $225,000 or less.
- All other filers: $150,000 or less.
If your MAGI exceeds the applicable limit in both years, the credit is off the table, regardless of order timing or price. MAGI here means adjusted gross income plus any amount excluded under the foreign earned income exclusion.
Leased Rivians Before the Cutoff
Leasing used to be the workaround for buyers who otherwise couldn’t reach the full credit. When a Rivian was leased, the leasing company was the legal buyer and claimed the Section 45W commercial clean vehicle credit, usually passing the savings through as a reduction in the lease’s capitalized cost.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 45W – Credit for Qualified Commercial Clean Vehicles
Section 45W had no $80,000 MSRP cap, no buyer income test, and no battery sourcing requirements. That combination made it possible to receive the full $7,500 benefit on high-trim R1T and R1S builds that would never have cleared Section 30D on a straight purchase.
That pathway is also closed for anything acquired after September 30, 2025.3Internal Revenue Service. Commercial Clean Vehicle Credit A lease on a Rivian delivered later only carries the credit through if the leasing company itself met the binding-contract-plus-payment test before the deadline.
How to Claim the Credit
If you qualify under the transition rule, file Form 8936 (Clean Vehicle Credits) with your federal return for the year the vehicle is placed in service. Part I of that form is where you verify your MAGI against the income limits.7Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8936
Buyers who used the point-of-sale transfer option — taking the credit as a discount at the dealer instead of waiting for tax time — still have to file Form 8936 to reconcile the transferred amount, which flows onto Schedule 2 of Form 1040.7Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8936 If your income turns out to exceed the limits in both years, the transferred amount comes back as additional tax.
One more limit to keep in mind: if you did not transfer the credit at the point of sale, it is nonrefundable. It can zero out your federal tax liability but will not produce a refund beyond that, and any unused portion does not carry to future years.