Federal EV tax credits ended on Sept 30, 2025 — yet most other calculators still show a phantom $7,500 savings that no longer exists. Get the honest math, based on 2026 Kelley Blue Book prices and real utility rates.
Long-trip model: each trip day = 500 mi driven; first ~270 mi charged at home, remaining ~230 mi via DC fast charging.
We built this to show you the real cost of going electric in 2026 — accurate, current, and honest enough to tell you when gas actually wins. You get a number you can plan around.
The big one: because the federal EV purchase credits ended for vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025 (under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act), factoring them into a 2026 calculation overstates savings by thousands. That covers the $7,500 new-vehicle credit (§30D), the $4,000 used-EV credit (§25E), and the commercial/leasing credit (§45W). We default these to $0 so your result reflects today’s real rules — and we update the moment they change. Full breakdown: Is the $7,500 EV tax credit still available? →
Good news worth knowing: one federal break did survive — a tax deduction (not a point-of-sale credit) for car-loan interest on new, U.S.-assembled vehicles, for tax years 2025–2028, with income limits. It reduces your taxable income rather than slashing money off the sticker price, so we flag it where it’s relevant for you to check your own eligibility, instead of baking in a number that might not apply. More in our guide: Is an EV worth it without the tax credit? →
Because they're out of date. The federal new-EV credit ended for vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025. We default it to $0 so your result reflects what you'd actually pay in 2026 — not a discount that no longer exists. We wrote up the details here: Why most EV calculators are wrong →
We pre-fill realistic 2026 averages, all editable: about $54,500 for a new EV and $49,200 for a comparable new gas car (Kelley Blue Book averages), gas prices from AAA state averages, and home electricity from EIA residential averages. Every figure is yours to overwrite — enter your actual vehicles and rates for the truest result.
Home charging is far cheaper than gas per mile. Public DC fast charging typically costs about two to three times as much per kWh as charging at home, which is why where you charge matters more than almost any other input. If you can't charge at home at all (apartment or street parking), an EV's running-cost advantage shrinks — sometimes enough to flip the verdict. We break it down in Is electricity cheaper than gas? → and EV time-of-use rates →
An EV usually costs more up front but less to run. Break-even is the year those lower running costs cancel out the higher purchase price — after that point, the EV is cheaper to own. If you sell before break-even, the gas car was the cheaper choice for you. Our calculator shows your break-even year directly. More: How long until an EV pays off →
No — and that's worth being upfront about. The calculator uses a single, fixed price for gas and for electricity across your whole ownership period. Real energy prices are volatile and move in opposite directions sometimes, so your result is an honest snapshot at today's prices, not a forecast. If you expect gas to climb faster than electricity (or vice versa), the real-world outcome could shift in that direction. Use the editable price fields to test a higher or lower scenario and see how sensitive your break-even is. For the most accurate result, enter your own local electricity price — and if you're on a time-of-use plan, use your actual off-peak rate, since that's when most home charging happens.
Yes. The calculator doesn't carry a used-price database, but every price field is editable — just enter the used EV's price and a comparable used gas car's price, and compare. Used EVs are genuinely attractive in 2026: the steepest depreciation hits in the first few years, so 3–4-year-old EVs often land at a strong value. You'll need to research current asking prices yourself — they move quickly — but the comparison itself is one you can run here in a minute.
One EV-specific bit of homework, though: with a used EV, battery health matters as much as price. Two cars with identical mileage can be worth thousands apart depending on the battery's State of Health (SoH), and a weak pack means less real-world range. Always ask the seller for a battery health report before buying, and confirm the remaining battery warranty (commonly 8 years / 100,000 miles, and it usually transfers to you).
If you need to install a Level 2 home charger, that’s a one-time upfront cost — typically a few hundred to ~$1,500+ installed — that can push out short-term break-even. The calculator already includes a home-charger cost option above for exactly this.
For the official, non-commercial facts worth checking:
Those vary widely and change often, so we keep them off this page to avoid stale numbers. Start with your state page in our state directory → and your local utility.
The verdict isn't just sticker price. The variables that move the result most:
We built this to be honest about every assumption — including when the numbers say gas is the better deal for you. Adjust the inputs above to match your real situation, and you'll get an answer you can actually trust.
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