Americans Getting $3,500 Direct Payments: How to Apply

Massachusetts residents are eligible for a $3,500 rebate if they meet certain requirements when purchasing an electric vehicle.

President Joe Biden has made climate change and the green energy transition a focus of his administration by getting legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act, which designates $369 billion toward that transition, passed. The administration also has taken smaller steps to reduce the nation's carbon footprint, such as establishing stricter regulations for gas stoves and dishwashers.

States have followed suit in various ways, and some have started to implement legislation to offset the negative impacts of climate change. Massachusetts, for instance, is sweetening the deal when it comes to purchasing an electric vehicle, and buyers could get a check for $3,500 if they meet certain conditions.

Last year, Governor Charlie Baker signed a law that enacted several climate change measures, including rewarding residents who buy an electric vehicle—even a used one—if they meet certain requirements.

As of September 1, the state began offering rebates to residents who buy or lease an electric vehicle costing less than $40,000 as long as the buyer meets income restrictions or receives state or federal assistance for the purchase. If the resident meets the requirements, Massachusetts will grant the buyer a $3,500 rebate that can be used as part of the down payment on the vehicle. Or the resident can receive the rebate as a check through the mail within three months of filling out an application.

Residents who bought a qualifying vehicle before September 1 can receive their rebate if they qualify and have until November 6 to submit an application. Qualifying purchases must have been made between November 10, 2022, and August 8, 2023. Rebates are available for light-duty electric vehicles or fuel-cell electric vehicles, but hybrid vehicles don't qualify.

Newsweek reached out to Baker's office by email for comment.

To qualify for the rebate, the residents must be below the income threshold of $150,000 for a couple, $112,500 for a head of household and $75,000 for an individual.

Tax credits and other incentives are the top reasons a motorist decides to purchase an electric vehicle, according to one expert.

"Making those incentives more widely available is appealing to what's driving EV consumers," Elizabeth Krear, vice president of electric vehicle practice at J.D. Power, previously told Newsweek.

The state implemented the rebates to encourage more people to purchase electric vehicles to meet its 2025 deadline of having 300,000 zero-emission vehicles on the road. The state has a long way to go, as the U.S. Department of Energy reported that 50,000 zero-emissions vehicles were on the road in Massachusetts in 2022.

Baker is hoping to mandate that all new vehicle sales must involve zero-emissions vehicles by 2035 under the new law.

The rebates are just one way that Massachusetts is encouraging its residents to move toward a greener climate.

The new law also provides funding for improvements to offshore wind energy and creates an offshore wind tax incentive program. Municipalities in Massachusetts can require new construction to be free of fossil fuels under the law.