Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit

2018

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.

Future Developments

For the latest information about developments related to
Form 8910 and its instructions, such as legislation
enacted after they were published, go to IRS.gov/
Form8910.

What's New

The alternative motor vehicle credit expired for vehicles
purchased after 2017. However, if you purchased the
vehicle in 2017 but placed it in service during 2018, you
may still be able to claim the credit for 2018. Do not report
vehicles purchased after 2017 on Form 8910 unless the
credit is extended.
At the time these instructions went to print,
Congress had not enacted legislation on expired
CAUTION provisions. To find out if legislation has been
enacted, go to IRS.gov/Extenders.

!

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.
Partnerships and S corporations must file this form to
claim the credit. All other taxpayers are not required to
complete or file this form if their only source for this credit
is a partnership or S corporation. Instead, they can report
this credit directly on line 1r in Part III of Form 3800,
General Business Credit.

Alternative Motor Vehicle

An alternative motor vehicle is a vehicle with at least four
wheels that qualifies as a qualified fuel cell vehicle.
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.
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 to the
IRS that a specific make, model, and model year vehicle
qualifies for the credit and the amount of the credit for
which it qualifies. The manufacturer or domestic
distributor should be able to provide you with a copy of the
IRS letter acknowledging the certification of the vehicle.
Jan 09, 2019

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.
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.
• 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 6 of Form 8910). Treat all vehicles
eligible for this exception as business/investment
property. If you elect to claim the credit, you must reduce
cost of goods sold by the amount you entered on line 6 for
that vehicle.
More information. For details, see the following.
• Section 30B.
• Notice 2008-33, 2008-12 I.R.B. 642, available at
IRS.gov/irb/2008-12_IRB#NOT-2008-33.

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 6 and 10 for that vehicle.

Coordination With Other Credits

If a vehicle qualifies for the qualified plug-in electric drive
motor vehicle credit on Form 8936, 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).

Cat. No. 20107S

Partnerships and S corporations report the above
credits on line 8. All other filers figuring a separate credit
on earlier lines also report the above credits on line 8. All
others not using earlier lines to figure a separate credit
can report the above credits directly on Form 3800, Part
III, line 1r.

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 13

Enter the total, if any, credits from Schedule 3 (Form
1040), lines 48 through 51 (or Form 1040NR, lines 46
through 48); Form 5695, line 30*; and Schedule R, line 22.

Line 4
Tentative Credit

*If applicable.

Enter the tentative credit 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
to the IRS of the credit allowable as explained earlier.

Line 15

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.

Line 5

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 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 5 (50% multiplied by 6
divided by 12).
For more information, see Pub. 463, Travel, Gift, and
Car Expenses.

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 and business taxpayers filing this
form is approved under OMB control number 1545-0074
and 1545-0123 and is included in the estimates shown in
the instructions for their individual and business income
tax return. The estimated burden for all other taxpayers
who file this form is shown below.
Recordkeeping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Learning about the law or the form . . . . . . . . . . .
Preparing and sending the form to the IRS . . . . . .

5 hr., 15
min.
18 min.
23 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.

Line 8

Enter total alternative motor vehicle credits from:
• Schedule K-1 (Form 1065), Partner's Share of Income,
Deductions, Credits, etc., box 15 (code P); and
• Schedule K-1 (Form 1120S), Shareholder's Share of
Income, Deductions, Credits, etc., box 13 (code P).

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Instructions for Form 8910 (2018)