Energy bill offers rich rewards for hybrids

In the current tax year, purchases are eligible for a $2,000 Adjustment to Income which is effectively a tax DEDUCTION even for those who do not itemize. No, sorry, it is NOT a rebate.

Next year's program under the new Energy Act is a tax CREDIT, which could also be considered a rebate of sorts.

 

No!!!

There is a $2,000 tax deduction for cars that were placed into service in 2005. If you are in the 28% tax bracket, it is worth only $560 off your taxes. A tax credit results in a dollar for dollar reduction of your tax obligation. Big difference.

 

because i got my car last year and only got the tax crdt of about 400-500. it will be more profitable to purchase the car next year. the credit will go a long way towards eliminating the last vestiages of the price premiums for hybrids.

am i disappointed? well my choice was make an extra grand or two and suffer with my old car for another 18 months

or do what i did.

i havent even the slightest twinge of regret

 

I have been notified that there's a Tideland #6 allocated with my name on it that is due at the dealership at the end of the month. While I don't know for certain as I don't know all of the details about the 2006 Prius yet, I will likely take the allocation.

Who knows what the new MSRP is going to be, and with these tax credits, I have a feeling that more dealers are going to get greedy demanding over MSRP.

 

And I imagine the demand is going to outstrip the supply right after the first of January. So you'll have some dealers adding a market fee that negates the tax credit.

Also....I anticipate there will be more demand for Prii not just because of the Energy Bill.

Gas is going up.

I'm going to be paying $2.63 a gallon tonight to gas up prior to my trip tomorrow. And that's for the 87 octane. I saw much higher today in a different part of town.

Both diesel and premium are over $3 a gallon.

The time for Prius adoption being almost exclusively for techies and greenies is over. The cheapies are going to be moving in. They are probably starting already. I expect there will be no 2005s left. Even with the new 2006 coming out, the 2005s are going to go. I doubt there will be any 'deals' to be made beyond what you can get now. And I expect there still to be waiting lists for the 2006 not just because of the Energy Bill tax credit, but because the price of gas is going up and up. In fact, despite Toyota increasing production, the waiting lists may get worse. I'm *glad* I bought mine when I did.

 

the additional cost will be about 1.49 % or so, give or take a few hundredths. i saw a report on the 2006 prices but dont remember the exact number. Toyota's standard policy is some sort of twice yearly price adjustments for nearly all models

 

I just bought mine in June and though the tax break wasn't the #1 reason I got it, it was an incentive