Iowa City to implement tax on EV charging

Iowa City will charge electric vehicle owners for the use of city-owned EV charging stations, following the July 1 Electric Fuel Excise Tax.

Beginning Oct. 16, EV owners will have to pay $0.16 per kilowatt-hour to use one of 12 Iowa City stations, located in the city’s parking ramps. Payment must be facilitated through ChargePoint, an EV app that features payment processing, displays charging speeds and locates connectors. 

The change comes after the State of Iowa passed the Electric Fuel Excise Tax, which taxes electricity used to charge EVs. The tax is not applicable to motorists charging vehicles at their residence.

The new tax requires electric fuel users and electric fuel dealers to obtain licenses and remit the tax. Electric fuel users are businesses that own EV charging stations to charge their own fleet of EVs, and electric fuel dealers are businesses that own EV charging stations and lets others charge their EVs at the stations.

Additional EV chargers will be added later this year at Dubuque Street and Chauncey Swan ramps, increasing the total number from 12 to 16.