Michigan bill would exempt EV chargers from property tax

A bill in the Michigan House would make electric vehicle chargers exempt from property taxes, but the House Fiscal Agency says most EV chargers would be installed even without such a selective benefit.

On Wednesday the House Tax Policy Committee considered but did not vote on House Bill 4708. The bill was submitted by first-term Rep. Alabas Farhat, D-Dearborn.

“For taxes levied after December 31, 2023, all real and personal property constituting a qualified charging station is exempt from the collection of taxes under this act,” the 21-page bill reads.

Property tax assessors would be forbidden from factoring in “any increase in true cash value that is a result of installing, replacing, or repairing 1 or more qualified charging stations in determining the true cash value of property for assessment purposes until the property is sold.”

Electric vehicles have benefited from favoritism and attempts at favoritism in both Lansing and Washington. Right now most EVs are eligible for a $7,500 federal rebate; in the 2025 Michigan budget, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has proposed a rebate of up to $2,500 for buyers of new EVs.

The federal government has also subsidized charging stations nationwide; Michigan was given $110 million to install just 127 chargers through 2026.

Though news headlines have touted public charging stations and electrified roads, the U.S. Department of Energy admits that if EV adoption does take off, most owners will want home chargers. If Michigan does indeed get the 2 million EVs on the road that Whitmer wants by 2030, 95% of the 1.6 million chargers needed would be privately owned.

And it’s those chargers House Bill 4708 would exempt from property taxes. The House Fiscal Agency estimates the exemption would cost Michigan governments less than $1 million annually, “due to the relatively low number of EV chargers statewide.”