Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: Form 8936 is the form that figures the clean vehicle credits: the new, the previously owned and the qualified commercial clean vehicle credit. It is filed with your return, together with one Schedule A for each vehicle. This page walks the form Part by Part and points to the page for each group of lines.
More IRS forms and schedules for individual filers, read line by line: Form 8911 instructions.
What Form 8936 does
The instructions give the purpose in one sentence: “Use Form 8936 and Schedule A (Form 8936) to figure the following credits for clean vehicles you placed in service during your tax year.” The form itself tells you “Complete a separate Schedule A (Form 8936) for each clean vehicle placed in service during the tax year.” Which credit a vehicle can support, and the amount, is worked out on Schedule A. Form 8936 adds up the results and carries them to your return.
Vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025
The 2025 instructions open with a notice that taxpayers “cannot claim clean vehicle credits for new, previously owned, or commercial clean vehicles that they acquired after September 30, 2025.” They also define the word: “a vehicle is “acquired” as of the date a written binding contract is entered into and a payment has been made.” Read both sentences before you fill in any Part, and see the Edition section below for which year’s form this is.
The form in order, Part by Part
Each row names the Part by its printed heading and links to the page for those lines.
| Part | Lines | Topic | Page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part I: “Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) Amount” | 1 to 5 | Your income for 2025 and 2024, and your 2024 filing status | Part I page |
| Part II: “Credit for Business/Investment Use Part of New Clean Vehicles” | 6 to 8 | The business use part of the new vehicle credit | Parts II and V page |
| Part III: “Credit for Personal Use Part of New Clean Vehicles” | 9 to 13 | The personal use part of the new vehicle credit | Part III page |
| Part IV: “Credit for Previously Owned Clean Vehicles” | 14 to 18 | The previously owned vehicle credit | Part IV page |
| Part V: “Credit for Qualified Commercial Clean Vehicles” | 19 to 21 | The commercial vehicle credit | Parts II and V page |
Who has to file it
The instructions say “You must file Form 8936 and Schedule A (Form 8936) if you purchased a new or used clean vehicle from a registered dealer and reduced the amount you paid at the time of sale by transferring the credit to the dealer.” The form repeats it: “Individuals who transferred the credit to the dealer at the time of sale must file this form and Schedule A (Form 8936).” For partnership and S corporation credits, see the Parts II and V page.
Where it goes next
Two personal lines carry results to Schedule 3. Line 13 says “Enter the smaller of line 9 or line 12 here and on Schedule 3 (Form 1040), line 6f.” Line 18 says “Enter the smaller of line 14 or line 17 here and on Schedule 3 (Form 1040), line 6m.” Those Schedule 3 lines are explained at Schedule 3 lines 6f to 6k and Schedule 3 lines 6l, 6m and 6z. The business use and commercial credits go to Form 3800 or Schedule K, as the Parts II and V page shows.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads the 2025 Form 8936, Clean Vehicle Credits and its 2025 instructions, the current files irs.gov served on 2026-10-18. They are the files for the tax year 2025 return, filed in 2026. The form’s own header says “Attach to your tax return.” Check the tax year printed on the form you are filling in and use the line numbers on that year’s form, because a different year’s form can number or word its lines differently.
Common mistakes
- Skipping Schedule A. The form says “Complete a separate Schedule A (Form 8936) for each clean vehicle placed in service during the tax year.”
- Forgetting the form after a dealer discount. The instructions say “if you purchased a new or used clean vehicle from a registered dealer and reduced the amount you paid at the time of sale by transferring the credit to the dealer.”
- Counting a vehicle by its delivery date. The instructions define it: “a vehicle is “acquired” as of the date a written binding contract is entered into and a payment has been made.”
Related: Schedule 3 lines 6f to 6k, Schedule 3 lines 6l, 6m and 6z, Schedule 2 lines 1a to 1c, Form 1040 lines 19, 20 and 21, and Form 1040.
Sources
- Instructions for Form 8936, Clean Vehicle Credits (and Schedule A (Form 8936), Clean Vehicle Credit Amount) (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8936.pdf
- Form 8936, Clean Vehicle Credits (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8936.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 18, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.