Editorial Policy

§1 What This Policy Covers

This Editorial Policy describes how evbreakeven.com produces, reviews, updates, and corrects published content. It applies to calculator methodology, state and federal incentive data, vehicle data, and editorial prose.

§2 Independence

We do not sell vehicles. We do not take dealer commissions. We do not accept paid placements. We do not run sponsored content disguised as editorial. Calculator outputs and rankings are not influenced by any commercial relationship. When we eventually use affiliate links (currently none — see affiliate disclosure), they will be disclosed prominently and never determine which vehicles, programs, or chargers we cover.

§3 Sources We Use

• Federal incentive logic: U.S. Internal Revenue Service primary publications, including the Section 30D and Section 25E pages on IRS.gov.
• Electricity rates: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) "Electric Power Monthly," residential class.
• Gasoline prices: EIA "Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update," regular grade weekly retail.
• Vehicle specifications: EPA fueleconomy.gov for efficiency, range, and battery data; manufacturer specifications for MSRP and trim-level details.
• State and utility incentives: primary state energy office publications, the DSIRE database (dsireusa.org), and individual utility program pages.

Every seeded data row carries a data_verified_at date and a source URL. When a user-facing claim cannot be tied to a primary source, we say so or omit the claim.

§4 Editorial Roles

• EV Economics Desk — the editorial team that researches and drafts calculator methodology, state guides, model comparisons, and topic guides. See team page.
• Editorial Reviewer (Mr. Bandi) — reviews calculator methodology, factual claims about federal and state incentives, and changes to vehicle data before publication. The reviewer's role is process compliance — methodology consistency, source verification, and update cadence — and does not constitute professional financial, tax, or legal advice.

§5 Methodology Transparency

Every calculator has a public methodology page that documents inputs, formulas, what the calculator excludes (and why), worked examples, and primary sources. If you can't reproduce a calculator's output by hand from the methodology page, it's a documentation bug — please email editorial@evbreakeven.com.

§6 Update Cadence

• Federal incentive logic: reviewed annually and within two weeks of any IRS rule change or guidance update.
• State and utility incentives: reviewed quarterly and within four weeks of any program change communicated by the program operator or DSIRE.
• Electricity and gasoline rates: refreshed monthly when EIA publishes new data.
• Vehicle data: reviewed quarterly; new model years added within four weeks of EPA listing.
• Editorial prose: reviewed annually for currency, more often when underlying facts change.

The "Last verified" date in the reviewer block on each page reflects the most recent editorial review.

§7 Corrections

If you find an error, email editorial@evbreakeven.com. We aim to acknowledge within 3 business days and correct within 14 business days. Substantive corrections are noted at the bottom of the affected page with the date of correction. Trivial edits (typos, clarifications) are made silently.

§8 AI-Assisted Drafting

Some editorial drafting may be AI-assisted. Every AI-assisted draft is reviewed and edited by a human editor before publication. We do not publish unreviewed AI output. Calculator methodology and incentive-amount claims are always cross-checked against primary sources by a human, regardless of how the surrounding prose was drafted.

§9 Conflicts of Interest

Editorial team members do not write about vehicles or programs in which they hold a financial interest beyond ordinary consumer purchase. The Editorial Reviewer does not approve content involving a vehicle owned by the reviewer or a program in which the reviewer has a financial interest.

§10 What We Don't Do

• We do not publish "sponsored" or "advertorial" content.
• We do not "rank" vehicles in exchange for compensation.
• We do not personalize calculator outputs by advertiser.
• We do not publish vehicle reviews based on press junkets we did not pay for.

§11 Contact

Editorial corrections: editorial@evbreakeven.com. General: hello@evbreakeven.com.