Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit

2011

Instructions for Form 8910

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit

General Instructions

Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless
otherwise noted.

What’s New

The alternative motor vehicle credit has expired for the
following vehicles purchased after 2010.
• Advanced lean burn technology vehicles.
• Qualified hybrid vehicles weighing 8,500 pounds or less
(the credit for vehicles weighing more than 8,500 pounds
expired earlier).
• Qualified alternative fuel vehicles.
However, if you purchased one of these vehicles prior to
2011, but placed that vehicle in service during 2011, you
may still take the credit for 2011.
The plug-in conversion credit expired for conversions
made after 2011.
Do not include these vehicles on Form 8910 unless the
credit is extended. See www.irs.gov/form8910 for the latest
information about this credit.

Purpose of Form

Use Form 8910 to figure your credit for alternative motor
vehicles you placed in service during your tax year. The
credit attributable to depreciable property (vehicles used for
business or investment purposes) is treated as a general
business credit. Any credit not attributable to depreciable
property is treated as a personal credit.
Taxpayers that are not partnerships or S corporations,
and whose only source of this credit is from those
pass-through entities, are not required to complete or file
this form. Instead, they can report this credit directly on
Form 3800.

Alternative Motor Vehicle

An alternative motor vehicle is a vehicle with at least four
wheels that qualifies as one of the following types of
vehicles.
Advanced lean burn technology vehicle. This is a new
vehicle with an internal combustion engine that incorporates
direct injection, is designed to operate primarily using more
air than is necessary for complete combustion of the fuel,
and that meets certain additional requirements.
Qualified hybrid vehicle. This is a new vehicle that draws
propulsion energy from onboard sources of stored energy
that are both an internal combustion or heat engine using
consumable fuel and a rechargeable energy storage
system, and that meets certain additional requirements.
Qualified alternative fuel vehicle. This is a new or
converted vehicle fueled solely by compressed natural gas,
liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, hydrogen, any
liquid that is at least 85 percent methanol, or a mixture of
one of these fuels and a petroleum-based fuel, and that
meets certain additional requirements.
Qualified fuel cell vehicle. This is a new vehicle propelled
by power derived from one or more cells that convert
chemical energy directly into electricity by combining oxygen
with hydrogen fuel, and that meets certain additional
requirements.
Qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle. This is a
vehicle converted before 2012 to be propelled to a
significant extent by an electric motor that draws electricity
from certain batteries capable of being recharged from an
Feb 06, 2012

external source of electricity, and that meets certain
additional requirements.
Certification and other requirements. Generally, you can
rely on the manufacturer’s (or, in the case of a foreign
manufacturer, its domestic distributor’s) certification that a
specific make, model, and model year vehicle qualifies for
the credit and the amount of the credit for which it qualifies.
If, however, the IRS publishes an announcement that the
certification for any specific make, model, and model year
vehicle has been withdrawn, you cannot rely on the
certification for such a vehicle purchased after the date of
publication of the withdrawal announcement.
If you purchased a vehicle and its certification was
withdrawn on or after the date of purchase, you can rely on
such certification even if you had not placed the vehicle in
service or claimed the credit by the date the withdrawal
announcement was published by the IRS. The IRS will not
attempt to collect any understatement of tax liability
attributable to reliance on the certification as long as you
purchased the vehicle on or before the date the IRS
published the withdrawal announcement.
In addition to certification, the following requirements
must be met to qualify for the credit:
• You are the owner of the vehicle. If the vehicle is leased,
only the lessor and not the lessee, is entitled to the credit;
• You placed the vehicle in service during your tax year;
• The original use of the vehicle began with you;
• You acquired the vehicle for use or to lease to others, and
not for resale; and
• You use the vehicle primarily in the United States.
Exception. If you are the seller of an alternative motor
vehicle to a tax-exempt organization, governmental unit, or a
foreign person or entity, and the use of that vehicle is
described in section 50(b)(3) or (4), you can claim the credit,
but only if you clearly disclose in writing to the purchaser the
amount of the tentative credit allowable for the vehicle (from
line 13 of Form 8910).
More information. For details, see the following.
• Section 30B.
• Notice 2006-9 (qualified hybrid vehicles weighing 8,500
pounds or less and advanced lean burn technology
vehicles), 2006-6 I.R.B. 413, available at www.irs.gov/irb/
2006-06_IRB/ar11.html.
• Notice 2006-54 (qualified alternative fuel vehicles),
2006-26 I.R.B. 1180, available at www.irs.gov/irb/
2006-26_IRB/ar13.html.
• Notice 2008-33 (qualified fuel cell vehicles), 2008-12
I.R.B. 642, available at www.irs.gov/irb/2008-12_IRB/ar12.
html.

Credit Phaseout

For qualified hybrid vehicles weighing 8,500 pounds or less
and advanced lean burn technology vehicles, the credit is
subject to a phaseout (reduction) once the vehicle
manufacturer (or, for a foreign manufacturer, its U.S.
distributor) sells 60,000 vehicles to retailers for use in the
United States after 2005. The phaseout begins in the
second calendar quarter after the quarter in which the
60,000th vehicle was sold. Then the phaseout allows 50% of
the full credit for 2 quarters, 25% of the full credit for 2
additional quarters, and no credit thereafter.

Basis Reduction

Unless you elect not to claim the credit, you may have to
reduce the basis of each vehicle by the sum of the amounts
entered on lines 13 and 17 for that vehicle.

Cat. No. 20107S

Coordination With Other Credits

of income (not to include any commuting mileage) by the
total number of miles the vehicle is driven for all purposes.
Treat vehicles used by your employees as being used 100%
for business/investment purposes if the value of personal
use is included in the employees’ gross income, or the
employees reimburse you for the personal use. If you report
the amount of personal use of the vehicle in your
employee’s gross income and withhold the appropriate
taxes, enter 100% for the percentage of business/
investment use.
If during the tax year you convert property used solely for
personal purposes to business/investment use (or vice
versa), figure the percentage of business/investment use
only for the number of months you use the property in your
business or for the production of income. Multiply that
percentage by the number of months you use the property in
your business or for the production of income and divide the
result by 12. For example, if you converted a vehicle to 50%
business use for the last 6 months of the year, you would
enter 25% on line 12 (50% multiplied by 6 divided by 12).
For more information, see Pub. 463, Travel,
Entertainment, Gift, and Car Expenses.

If a vehicle qualifies for the qualified plug-in electric drive
motor vehicle credit on Form 8936, Qualified Plug-In Electric
Drive Motor Vehicle Credit, the vehicle does not qualify for
the alternative motor vehicle credit.

Recapture of Credit

If the vehicle no longer qualifies for the credit, you may have
to recapture part or all of the credit. For details, see section
30B(h)(8).

Specific Instructions
Line 2

Enter the vehicle’s vehicle identification number (VIN) on
line 2. The VIN of a vehicle can be obtained from the
registration, title, proof of insurance, or actual vehicle.
Generally, the VIN is 17 characters made up of numbers
and letters.

Line 4
Credit Allowable

Line 15

Enter total alternative motor vehicle credits from:
• Schedule K-1 (Form 1065), box 15 (code P)
• Schedule K-1 (Form 1120S), box 13 (code P)

Enter the credit allowable (after reduction under the
phaseout rules) for the year, make, and model of vehicle
you entered on line 1. You can generally rely on the
manufacturer’s (or domestic distributor’s) certification of the
credit allowable as explained earlier.

Line 20

Enter the total, if any, credits from Form 1040, lines 47
through 50 (or Form 1040NR, lines 45 through 47); Form
5695, line 14; Form 8834, line 23; and Schedule R, line 22.

Advanced Lean Burn Technology Vehicles
For information on credit amounts for advanced lean burn
technology vehicles, visit IRS.gov and search for
“Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit.” Also see What’s New,
earlier, if the vehicle was purchased after 2010.

Line 22

If you cannot use part of the personal portion of the credit
because of the tax liability limit, the unused credit is lost.
The unused personal portion of the credit cannot be carried
back or forward to other tax years.

Qualified Hybrid Vehicles That Weigh 8,500
Pounds or Less

For information on credit amounts for qualified hybrid
vehicles that weigh 8,500 pounds or less, visit IRS.gov and
search for “Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit.” Also see
What’s New, earlier, if the vehicle was purchased after
2010.

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We ask for the
information on this form to carry out the Internal Revenue
laws of the United States. You are required to give us the
information. We need it to ensure that you are complying
with these laws and to allow us to figure and collect the right
amount of tax.
You are not required to provide the information requested
on a form that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act
unless the form displays a valid OMB control number. Books
or records relating to a form or its instructions must be
retained as long as their contents may become material in
the administration of any Internal Revenue law. Generally,
tax returns and return information are confidential, as
required by section 6103.
The time needed to complete and file this form will vary
depending on individual circumstances. The estimated
burden for individual taxpayers filing this form is approved
under OMB control number 1545-0074 and is included in the
estimates shown in the instructions for their individual
income tax return. The estimated burden for all other
taxpayers who file this form is shown below.

Qualified Alternative Fuel Vehicles

For information on credit amounts for qualified alternative
fuel vehicles (for example, $4,000 for the 2010 and 2011
Honda Civic GX), visit IRS.gov and search for “Alternative
Motor Vehicle Credit.” Also see What’s New, earlier, if the
vehicle was purchased after 2010.

Qualified Fuel Cell Vehicles

For information on credit amounts for qualified fuel cell
vehicles (for example, $8,000 for the 2011 Honda FCX
Clarity), visit IRS.gov and search for “Alternative Motor
Vehicle Credit.”

Line 6

Enter any section 179 expense deduction you claimed for
the vehicle conversion from Part I of Form 4562,
Depreciation and Amortization.

Recordkeeping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Learning about the law or the form . . . . . . . . . . .
Preparing and sending the form to the IRS . . . . . .

Line 12

Enter the percentage of business/investment use.
Enter 100% if the vehicle is used solely for business
purposes or you are claiming the credit as the seller of the
vehicle.
If the vehicle is used for both business purposes and
personal purposes, determine the percentage of business
use by dividing the number of miles the vehicle is driven
during the year for business purposes or for the production

11 hr.
12 min.
22 min.

If you have comments concerning the accuracy of these
time estimates or suggestions for making this form simpler,
we would be happy to hear from you. See the instructions
for the tax return with which this form is filed.

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2011 Instructions for Form 8910