Some Coloradans who play their financial cards just right in 2024 could land a new Chevy Bolt electric car for around $5,500, according to our calculations.

That price would be after using $21,000 in incentives and trading in one qualifying beater (this doesn’t include dealer fees, taxes or any of the likely hidden costs). But beggars can’t be choosers and according to our research, only four cars — two Teslas and two Chevys — currently qualify for all three programs.

Over the years, we’ve been skeptical about the wisdom of incentives for electric vehicles, given that when first implemented in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the tax breaks were often used for the $100,000 Tesla Roadster, raising questions about if the tax credits were just a drop in the bucket for many buyers all while the Congressional Budget Office estimated the program cost $1.5 billion to $2 billion per year. Could those resources reduce more carbon in other ways?

As it turns out, however, the fledgling electric vehicle market of 2009 has boomed partly thanks to government investment in the industry and hand-holding of customers.

And both federal and state lawmakers have made vast improvements on the electric vehicle incentive policies, setting income limits for who can qualify for the tax credits, requiring that the cars and their batteries be manufactured in the U.S. and setting a threshold for the value of the eligible car.

Now we fear, however, that given the complexity of the incentives, some Coloradans might miss out on their opportunity to join the electric vehicle transition and help reduce their carbon footprint for the good of humanity.

Unfortunately, navigating these incentives for electric vehicles involves a complex Venn diagram of tax liabilities, annual adjusted gross incomes, family sizes, and of course, the actual value of your current vehicle that you would trade in using the state’s new vehicle exchange program.

So here’s a breakdown of the three incentives available, changes that went into effect on Jan. 1 and a brief eligibility guide to make it easier:

$7,500 in federal refundable tax credits

The income limits for the federal electric vehicle tax credits are quite high, so odds are most Coloradans qualify based on having a modified adjusted gross income (Line 11 on a 990) that is less than $150,000 for individuals or $300,000 for married joint filers.

And the federal tax credit is easier to use than ever before. Starting in 2024 the tax credit became fully refundable (meaning even if you don’t pay $7,500 in federal income taxes you can still get the full benefit), and car dealers can now front buyers the money during the sale so they don’t have to wait a year. A partial credit of $3,500 is available for vehicles that meet only some of the criteria.

You can find the list of vehicles that qualify for the full incentive or the partial incentive on fueleconomy.gov. The criteria for cars now involve being manufactured in the United States and costing less than $55,000 for a car and $80,000 for an SUV.

$7,500 in state tax credits

Colorado’s electric vehicle tax credits are also refundable and beginning this year buyers can also get the credit at the time of purchase from the dealer who then files the federal paperwork to get the value of the credit at a later date. Again, this is huge so buyers don’t have to wait until the next tax deadline to see the benefit of the credit. The credit is $5,000 for a car that costs less than $80,000, but starting Jan. 1 buyers can get an additional $2,500 if the car is less than $35,000.

$6,000 for Vehicle Exchange Colorado Program

Coloradans who have owned a car that is at least 12 years old and make less than 80% of their area median income can also trade in the operational gas or diesel-powered car for a $6,000 rebate. For example, an individual in Denver would have to make less than $69,520 to qualify while a family of four could have a household income of up to $99,280 (Line 9 total income is used for this qualification, which is slightly less generous than the federal tax credits AGI).

Obviously, this isn’t a good deal if the vehicle is worth more than $6,000 and the less the used car is worth, the more benefit the person trading in the vehicle will see from this program.

The rebate is available at the point of sale.

Even if someone doesn’t qualify for all three incentives (or wouldn’t benefit from all three), even one incentive can make an electric vehicle much more price-competitive with a traditional gas or diesel combustion engine. Add in the savings on gas over the vehicle’s battery life and Xcel Energy’s $1,300 rebate for installation of an EV charger and the deals are officially too good to pass up for anyone who is on the fence about going electric.

Also, low-income electric vehicle buyers could benefit more from using Xcel Energy’s $5,500 electric vehicle credit instead of the state’s $7,500 tax credit based on how their taxes are structured. The Xcel credit can’t be used with the state’s tax credit but can be used with the federal credit and the vehicle exchange program.

Just how generous are these incentives?

With all three incentives, someone could get a base-model Tesla Y, regular MSRP of $44,000, for $23,000.

The Tesla Model 3 (MSRP $35,000) basic rear-wheel version would come in at a cool $14,000 after the incentives.

The Chevy Bolt EUV model starts at $27,800 which means someone could snag a new one off the dealer’s lot for a mere $6,800 cash.

The Chevy Bold EV starts at $26,500, meaning a Coloradan could get a new electric vehicle for $5,500.

Complex public policy? Absolutely, but we hope Coloradans will find some benefit in this helping hand as we transition away from fossil fuels and toward a clean energy future.