Jack suggested I poll this, and at the time I thought "naw"... Then I saw the frenzied "THE 2006 IS HERE!!!!!" thread, and I just HAD to know -- How many US citizens, seriously contemplating the purchase of an '06, are going to give up a whopping $3,000+ tax credit just to take delivery a few weeks earlier? Curious how this will shake out... By the way, if your reason is because your dealer told you that you can only buy it for MSRP in '05, then you really should spend some time talking to more than 1 dealer and playing them against one another. I sure can see how salesmen would use such a tactic to get you to buy "now"... Let's limit this only to US citizens seriously planning a '06 purchase. The rest of you just use the "show results" button. I also couldn't find a way to limit the timeframe of the poll, but let's stop voting on Dec 1st. Obviously, the closer we get to '06, the less meaningful the question. Thanks!
This is what I did to get MSRP. I requested delivery in 06, and after the "I'll check with my manager" bit they said that would be ok. Now, here is the real hard question. If my exact order with all my preferences were to arrive early... it would be tempting to accept delivery. But if it were just "a matter of weeks", I think I would say "no way" and put myself back on the bottom of the list and wait. William
Hey, hey, now, let's not go blaming our funky polls on some amorphous "Jack". It's a legitimate question. Actually, to me, it's just as legitimate to include '05s in the question, since they're eligible for the '06 break. If I had "ordered" an '05 in, say, June-July, thinking it would be here in Aug.-Sept.,and then the dealer had told me it wasn't coming until around now, I'd have been negotiating with him in Oct. to either hold it over for me until 01/02, or put me at the top of the list for an '06. But probably not too many are affected in this way. It'll be interesting to see how Prius sales figures for Nov.and Dec. come out, compared to the 9,000+ they've been selling the last few months. From the posts I see on PC here and there, it's about evenly divided between those who'll drive one away in Dec. if it comes in, and those who insist on waiting.
I just got the word that my Prius (gee, doesn't that sound nice..MY Prius) is scheduled for December production and January delivery!!! I hope I don't have to decide on accepting one earlier than Jan (say someone else on the list passes). But.......I'm pretty sure the response would be "no way". The tax break is too good...and now I can see light at the end of the tunnel (yes, it's the sun glinting off the chrome of a brand new Prius B) ) Been to a department store in the last couple of weeks. It feels like Christmas already. 2006 is just around the corner!!!
No, a US citizen who doesn't pay income tax would have one of the reasons to accept delivery in '05...
I'm not following. Someone who doesn't pay income tax has no incentive to wait until 2006. Shouldn't they be excluded from this poll?
I'm interested in finding out how many people in the US will accept delivery of a 2006 in 2005. Some do it because they need a car now. Some do it because they think they won't get MSRP in '06. But some may do it because they don't pay income taxes, and therefore won't get the tax break. That's fair. BTW, I want to find out how I can stop paying income taxes!
A tax CREDIT can be realized by anyone, whether they owe taxes or not. If you don't owe federal taxes, you'll get a refund from the government for the amount of the credit. Credits are so much more powerful than deductions!
Hmmm, another post on this board said that the tax credit is only good if you would actually have to pay that amount. If you don't pay taxes, then no credit. If youpay less than $3000, then you only get that amount in credit. Just quoting what I read on another thread... As for me, I'm going to wait till after Jan 1 for my Prius, but the dealership said it probably won't be an issue, as they likely won't come in until January anyway.
A buddy of mine is working abroad since last year. Should she return today, she will have most of her salary exempted. If she earns 70k, then all her earning from abroad will be tax free because IRS allows up to 80k tax free if an US citizen work outside of US. stupid IRS. anyway. the trick is to work abroad.
There's confusion on this. It's your tax LIABILITY that counts. You may be "liable" for $6K in taxes, and have had $3K deducted from your checks. So you've already PAID $3K If the credit is $3K, you don't pay any more. If you're "liable for" $2K, and have had it all deducted from your checks, you get only that $2K back. Uncle Sam will not take the other $1K from its funds and give it to you.
I was going to complain that there was no "No, unless my current car dies before then" option -- but then I realized that, even if my car dies tomorrow, I'd still probably save money by renting a car for six weeks and then buying in January.
Wow, almost 30 people here are already in line for new '06s (as of this post)! The percentage that don't want the tax break has been running 1/4 to 1/3 of our "in the know" buyers. Interesting!
I'll take my '06 pronto. Show me the $$$, I'll take my guaranteed $2k deduction NOW versus the AMT tax credit lotto that is still 14+ months until I would know. C'mon now... besides the employer $5k discount eases the decision.
These statements are absolutely wrong! This tax credit will not reduce your tax liability below your alternate minimum tax. The lowest AMT you can have is $0. This tax credit will not reduce your tax liability below $0. There is good coverage of this topic in the Toyota_Prius_FAQ B)
We're getting two '06s and AMT will not allow us to claim over $6,000 in credit. We'll probably max out at around $3,000 or so (it's all guess work at this point anyway). So, we've let our dealers know that we'll accept an '06 this year. We might as well get the deduction this year and have something for '05 rather than let the extra credit go to waste for '06.