If you’ve been putting off installing a home EV charger while you waited to see how the tax situation would shake out, the wait is over — and not in the direction homeowners were hoping for. The federal Section 30C tax credit for home EV charger installations officially expired on June 30, 2026, and as of this writing there is no federal credit left for residential EV charging equipment.
That doesn’t mean installing a charger at your home in Murrells Inlet, Myrtle Beach, or anywhere else on the Grand Strand is a bad idea. It does mean the math has changed, and it’s worth understanding exactly what changed before you get a quote. Here’s what happened, what it costs you, and what still matters when you’re deciding whether to move forward.
What Was the Section 30C EV Charger Tax Credit?
Section 30C — officially the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit — was a federal tax credit that offset part of the cost of installing EV charging equipment at a home or business. It’s been on the books in one form or another since the Energy Policy Act of 2005, but the version most homeowners knew was the one expanded under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
Under that version, homeowners could claim:
- 30% of the total cost of the charger and its installation
- Capped at $1,000 for a residential installation
- Only if the property sat in a qualifying census tract — one classified by the IRS as either a low-income community or a non-urban area
- Claimed on your federal return using IRS Form 8911
That census tract requirement mattered. This wasn’t a credit every homeowner in the country could claim just by installing a charger — it depended on your specific address. Some Grand Strand homeowners qualified; others in more developed parts of Horry and Georgetown counties may not have, even before the credit expired. If you installed a charger before the deadline and aren’t sure whether your address qualified, the IRS’s census tract mapping tool (linked from Form 8911’s instructions) is the way to check before you file.
When Did It Actually Expire?
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law in July 2025, wound down a long list of clean-energy tax incentives, including 30C. Per current IRS guidance, the credit applies to property placed in service after December 31, 2022, and before July 1, 2026 — which means any home EV charger installation completed and operational on or after July 1, 2026 no longer qualifies for a federal credit period. That cutoff applied to both the residential credit and the separate commercial version of 30C (which covered business and fleet charging up to $100,000 per port).
If your charger was installed and operational on or before June 30, 2026, and your address was in an eligible census tract, you should still be able to claim the credit on your return for that tax year. If your installation happens now, the federal credit simply isn’t part of the equation anymore.
What This Actually Means for Your Wallet
Let’s put real numbers on it. A typical Level 2 home charger installation — the charger hardware plus the electrician’s labor to wire a dedicated circuit — often lands somewhere between $900 and a few thousand dollars, depending on your panel and how far the run is from the panel to the charger location.
Under the old credit, on a $3,000 installation, an eligible homeowner would have gotten back 30%, or $900. On anything at $3,334 or above, the credit maxed out at the full $1,000. Today, that same $3,000 job costs the homeowner the full $3,000, with no federal offset at all.
For homeowners who were already outside an eligible census tract, this changes nothing — you never had the credit to lose. For homeowners who did qualify, this is a straightforward $270–$1,000 increase in the effective cost of the project, depending on your total install cost.
What Hasn’t Disappeared: Utility Rebates and Off-Peak Rates
The federal credit is gone, but it wasn’t the only incentive in play. Several South Carolina electric utilities — including cooperatives serving Horry and Georgetown counties — have offered their own EV charger rebate programs in recent years, generally in the $200–$500 range for a qualifying Level 2 charger. These programs open, close, and change eligibility rules on their own schedule, separate from federal tax law, so the right move is to check directly with your utility provider before you install, not after.
It’s also worth asking your utility whether they offer a time-of-use rate for EV charging. Even without a rebate, shifting your charging to off-peak overnight hours can meaningfully reduce what it costs to fuel your car at home over the life of the charger — savings that show up every month, not just once on a tax return.
Does This Change Whether You Should Install a Home Charger?
Not really. The case for a home Level 2 charger was never solely about the $1,000 federal credit — it was about convenience, safety, and cost per mile compared to public charging or gasoline. That underlying math hasn’t moved. What has moved is the upfront number, which makes it more important than ever to install the charger correctly the first time, since there’s no tax credit cushion to absorb a mistake, a rework, or an unpermitted install that has to be redone.
That’s really where a licensed electrician earns their fee right now. Our EV charger installation team evaluates your panel, confirms it has the spare capacity for a dedicated 240-volt circuit, and gives you a single written estimate before any work starts — so the number you’re quoted is the number you pay, with no federal credit to complicate the comparison anymore.
What Actually Drives Your Install Cost Now
With the tax credit out of the picture, the real cost drivers for a home EV charger installation on the Grand Strand come down to a short list:
Panel capacity. A Level 2 charger needs a dedicated 50-amp circuit. Many homes built before the 2000s — and plenty of homes in Murrells Inlet, Garden City, and Surfside Beach with 100-amp service — don’t have the spare capacity to add one safely without upgrading the panel first. If your load calculation shows you’re maxed out, an electrical panel upgrade becomes part of the project, and that’s the single biggest swing factor in total cost.
Distance from panel to charger location. A garage right next to the panel is a much smaller job than a detached carport or a charger mounted on the far side of the driveway.
Hardware choice. Whether you’re installing a Tesla Wall Connector, a universal J1772 charger, or letting us help you pick one, hardware pricing varies, and outdoor-rated, corrosion-resistant equipment — which we recommend for anything mounted outside in coastal salt air — costs a bit more than an indoor-only unit.
Permitting. Where required, we pull permits through Horry or Georgetown County and wire to current South Carolina code, which protects your insurance and keeps your charger’s manufacturer warranty intact.
None of this changed on July 1. What changed is that these are now the only numbers on the page — there’s no federal credit to net against the total.
If You Were Racing the June 30 Deadline and Missed It
If you were planning to install before the cutoff and the timing didn’t work out, you’re not alone, and it’s not the end of the story. The value of a properly installed home charger — safe overnight charging, code compliance, a corrosion-resistant install that holds up to Grand Strand humidity and salt air — is exactly the same today as it was on June 29. You just won’t see a line item for it on your federal return next spring. For most homeowners, that’s a real but manageable difference, not a reason to keep charging off an extension cord run across the garage.
A Note for Business and Rental Property Owners
The commercial version of 30C — the one that covered fleet and business charging up to $100,000 per port — wound down on the same July 1, 2026 date as the residential credit. If you operate a short-term rental, a small fleet, or a commercial property along the Grand Strand and were counting on that credit for a charging project, talk to a tax professional about your specific timeline and any installations you may have already placed in service before the deadline. Our commercial services team can still help you evaluate the electrical side of a charging installation for a business or rental property — we just can’t offer tax advice, and neither can this article.
Frequently Asked Questions
As of July 1, 2026, there is no federal Section 30C credit available for new residential or commercial EV charger installations. Congress could reinstate a similar credit in the future, but nothing is currently scheduled to bring it back.
Get an Accurate, Written Estimate Before You Install
The federal credit may be gone, but a clear, upfront number isn’t. Greg Beverly Services has installed EV chargers, generators, and full home electrical systems across the Grand Strand since 1985, with primary service in Murrells Inlet and Myrtle Beach and coverage from Pawleys Island to North Myrtle Beach. We’ll evaluate your panel, tell you honestly whether you need an upgrade, and give you a single written estimate with no vague allowances and no tax-credit guesswork.
Call (843) 651-6305 or request a free estimate online to get started.
This article is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute tax advice. Tax credit rules, eligibility, and deadlines are subject to change; consult a qualified tax professional and the IRS’s official guidance on Form 8911 for your specific situation.