Petrol hit a national average of $3.79 a gallon in the first week of July 2026, up more than 20% year-on-year according to EIA's weekly retail price data, while electricity prices climbed to nearly 18.8 cents per kWh. At the same time, the $7,500 federal EV tax credit that shaped so many buying decisions since 2022 is gone — it expired for any vehicle acquired after 30 September 2025, and isn't coming back for new buyers. Every EV-vs-petrol conversation that leaned on that credit is now out of date.
So the question readers actually ask us has changed. It's no longer "does the tax credit make an EV worth it?" It's simpler and harder to fake an answer to: with no federal credit, current fuel prices, and your own driving habits, would switching to electric actually save you money — and if so, how much, and how fast? Below is a calculator that runs those numbers with today's figures, plus a breakdown of everything it does and doesn't account for.
Why the Old Math No Longer Applies
What Changed in 2025–2026
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law on 4 July 2025, ended the federal new-EV credit (Section 30D, up to $7,500) and the used-EV credit (Section 25E, up to $4,000) for any vehicle acquired after 30 September 2025. The IRS confirms on its official Clean Vehicle Tax Credits page that these credits are not available for vehicles acquired after that date. The IRS also closed the Energy Credits Online portal that dealers had used to apply the credit at the point of sale. A separate federal credit for home EV charger installation (Section 30C) has now also lapsed for equipment placed in service after roughly 1 July 2026. The one exception: buyers who signed a binding contract and made a payment on or before 30 September 2025 can still claim the credit on their 2025 tax return, but that door is closed for anyone shopping now.
What's Left On the Table
Federal purchase incentives are gone, but not every lever is. A new auto loan interest deduction offers meaningful savings for US-assembled vehicles, and many states, utilities and local governments still run their own EV rebate or tax credit programmes — these vary enormously by state, so check your state energy office before assuming national averages apply to you. Running costs, meanwhile, haven't gone anywhere: electricity is still generally cheaper per mile than petrol, and that gap is the one variable readers can calculate precisely for themselves.
Try It: EV Ownership Cost Calculator
Enter your own mileage, local electricity rate and the petrol car you're cross-shopping against. The defaults below are pre-loaded with current 2026 US national averages so you can see a realistic baseline before customising it.
EV Ownership Cost Calculator
Compare real running costs: electric vs. petrol, over the years you'll actually own it.
Your EV
Comparable Petrol Car
| Year | EV cost | Petrol cost | Cumulative savings |
|---|
Estimates cover fuel/energy costs only — not purchase price, incentives, insurance, maintenance, or depreciation. Home charging rate assumed; public/DC fast charging is typically higher per kWh. Figures are for comparison purposes and will vary by vehicle, driving style, and local rates.
Using the national-average defaults above — 12,000 miles a year, a 3.5 mi/kWh EV against a 28 mpg petrol car — charging costs roughly $634 a year versus about $1,624 for petrol. That's close to $990 a year in fuel savings, or almost $5,000 over five years, before any state incentive is applied. Swap in your own numbers, because your local electricity rate is the single biggest lever in that result.
Breaking Down the Real Costs
Charging Costs vs Petrol Costs
Electricity is a national average, not a personal one. As of mid-2026, EIA data shows US residential rates range from around 12 cents per kWh in North Dakota to over 40 cents in Hawaii, so the calculator's default of 18.5 cents will overstate your savings if you live somewhere cheap, and understate them if you're in a high-cost state. Check your last bill: divide your total charge by total kWh used, and use that "all-in" figure rather than the advertised rate, since delivery fees and surcharges often aren't included in headline pricing.
Home Charging vs Public Fast Charging
The calculator assumes home charging, which is where most EV owners do the bulk of their top-ups. Public DC fast charging is a different economic proposition entirely — networks typically charge by the kWh or by the minute at a meaningful premium over home rates, sometimes two to three times as much. If you don't have home or workplace charging access, your real-world savings will be noticeably smaller than the headline number above.
Maintenance and Repairs
This is where EVs tend to pull further ahead. Industry estimates put scheduled maintenance at roughly 6 cents per mile for a battery-electric vehicle against about 10 cents per mile for petrol, largely because there's no engine oil, no timing belt, no exhaust system and no spark plugs to service. Independent testing organisations have found EV owners spending roughly half as much on repairs and maintenance over time. For a second opinion using your specific make and model, the Department of Energy runs its own Vehicle Cost Calculator, which factors in ownership costs by vehicle rather than national averages. The one place EVs often lose ground is tyres — the added weight of the battery pack increases wear, so budget for replacing tyres somewhat more often than you would on a comparable petrol car.
Insurance
Expect to pay more, not less, for EV insurance in most cases — typically an extra $200 to $400 a year compared with a similar petrol model, largely down to higher repair and replacement-part costs. This gap is narrowing as EV-specific repair networks mature, but it's real enough in 2026 that it's worth getting an actual quote before assuming the fuel savings translate directly to your wallet.
What the Calculator Doesn't Include
Purchase Price and Incentives
This tool deliberately sticks to running costs, because purchase price and incentive eligibility vary too much by vehicle, state and even the specific dealership to build into a single national calculator without it going stale within weeks. With the federal credit gone, the purchase-price gap between EVs and comparable petrol cars matters more than it has in years — check your state energy office and the vehicle manufacturer's site directly for anything still on offer.
Depreciation
EV depreciation has historically run higher than petrol cars in some segments, partly due to rapid year-over-year improvements in range and charging speed making older models less desirable, and partly due to battery-health uncertainty affecting resale confidence. This varies significantly by brand and model, so it's worth checking resale data for the specific EV you're considering rather than assuming a blanket rule.
Where the Federal EV Tax Credit Actually Stands
To put it plainly: if you're buying an EV in July 2026, there is no federal point-of-sale credit available to you. The $7,500 new-vehicle credit and $4,000 used-vehicle credit both ended for cars acquired after 30 September 2025, and the IRS has shut down the system dealers used to apply it. The narrow exception is for buyers who had a binding contract and made a payment before that date — if that's you, the credit is claimed on your 2025 return via IRS Form 8936, not at the point of sale. For everyone shopping today, the more useful federal benefit is the auto loan interest deduction for US-assembled vehicles, alongside whatever state, utility or local programmes are still active where you live.
FAQ
Is the $7,500 federal EV tax credit still available in 2026?
No. It ended for any vehicle acquired after 30 September 2025, following the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Only buyers with a binding contract and payment made before that date can still claim it, on their 2025 tax return.
How much can I actually save charging an EV instead of buying petrol?
At current 2026 national averages, roughly $990 a year, or close to $5,000 over five years — but this depends heavily on your local electricity rate and how many miles you drive. Use the calculator above with your own numbers rather than relying on the national average.
Do EVs really cost less to maintain than petrol cars?
Generally, yes. Industry estimates put scheduled maintenance at around 6 cents per mile for EVs versus about 10 cents per mile for petrol cars, since there's no oil, no timing belt and no exhaust system to service. Tyre wear tends to be higher on EVs due to added battery weight, which offsets some of the saving.
Is EV insurance more expensive?
Usually, by roughly $200 to $400 a year compared with a similar petrol vehicle, mainly due to higher repair costs. Get an actual quote for your specific model before assuming otherwise.
What's the difference between home charging and public charging cost?
Home charging, which this calculator assumes, is typically the cheapest way to run an EV. Public DC fast charging can cost two to three times as much per kWh, so owners without home or workplace charging access will see smaller real-world savings than the headline figures suggest.
Are there any EV incentives left in 2026?
The federal purchase credit is gone, but many states, utilities and local governments still offer rebates or tax incentives, and a new federal auto loan interest deduction applies to US-assembled vehicles. Check your state energy office directly, since these programmes change often and vary widely by location.
How accurate is this calculator?
It's designed for realistic comparison, not a guarantee — it covers fuel and energy costs only, using figures you provide. Purchase price, incentives, insurance, maintenance and depreciation aren't included, and actual costs will vary by vehicle, driving style and local rates.
Conclusion
With the federal credit gone, the number that now decides whether an EV makes financial sense for you isn't a tax code section — it's the rate on your own electricity bill. Run it through the calculator above, and re-run it whenever that rate changes or petrol swings by more than about 20 cents a gallon, since those are the two inputs that move the outcome the most. If your all-in electricity rate is under roughly 20 cents per kWh, the fuel-cost case for going electric is still strong even without federal help. Above roughly 25 cents per kWh — already the reality in several states — that case gets a lot thinner, and it's worth running the full numbers, including insurance and maintenance, before deciding either way.
