It was years ago, and I was in the middle of Death Valley testing a swanky, new electric pickup truck for a week. A long day of winding it off-road through trails had left its monstrous battery drained almost completely. I could barely limp into Furnace Creek on the low single-digit charge as the clock’s hour hand climbed toward midnight. I was in for a long night, spent not sleeping in my comfortable tent but stuffed into the front seat. And it was all because of a difference in one level. One level of EV charger.Maybe it’s time for you to upgrade, if not now then soon. There’s a lot happening in the US in regards to home chargers in 2026. Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” eliminates the 30-percent tax credit on buying and installing home chargers that certain low-income and rural EV owners are eligible for. The credit ends on June 30, 2026, six years earlier than previously planned, so if you want to upgrade your home charger and are eligible for the tax credit, make that purchase soon.(opens in a new window)ChargePointHomeFlex Level 2 EV Charger J1772(opens in a new window)Available at AmazonBuy Now(opens in a new window)On the levelThere were hardly any EV chargers in those days (there are still hardly any now), and the only chargers available were level 1 chargers inside of an expensive resort that I definitely wasn’t staying at, so slow at recharging an EV’s battery that it was like trying to consume a Snack Pack pudding through a hollow coffee stirrer. Nevertheless, what choice did I have? I plugged in, got back into the truck, reclined the seat so that I was out of view of the security guard, and bunked down for the night.I forget how much charge I ended up with eight hours later when day broke and I woke up; it’s been years, after all. But it wasn’t much more than required to get the truck across the Amargosa Mountain Range and the state border into Beatty, Nevada, where a glorious level 2 charger awaited at an RV campground. In blistering contrast, I had barely enough time to walk across town for a plate of barbecue and eat it before the truck’s battery was at full capacity and ready to take me back onto the California side of the national park.Home chargers divide into the same level 1 and level 2 categories. Level 1 chargers are out. They were always slow, but for a while in the EV’s 21st-century revival, they were for sale simply because the economics of installing a level 2 home charger were on the pricey side. Now that level 2 chargers are affordable, there’s no reason to buy a level 1 charger. If you were an EV early adopter and have a level 1 charger, I’d say that you should replace it as soon as you can. The difference is night and day.Gettin’ ChoosyChargePoint HomeFlex Level 2 EV Charger for about $600. That’s the same ChargePoint that runs a nationwide network of public EV charging stations, and which I’ve relied upon during countless road tests. Most non-Tesla EVs in North America use the CCS or J1772 plug, but you can also buy the ChargePoint HomeFlex NACS plug if you own a Tesla. You could buy Tesla’s own Universal Wall Connector for $600, which works with both NACS and, via an included adapter, J1772 plugs. Like the HomeFlex, it’s also a level 2 charger. Now that automakers have begun to adopt Tesla’s NACS plug, your next new EV purchase means you’ll probably end up needing a charger with a NACS plug, too.(opens in a new window)Tesla Universal Wall Connector(opens in a new window)Available at TeslaBuy Now(opens in a new window)The post Buy the Right Home Charger for Your EV Before the Tax Credit Expires in June appeared first on VICE.