If you're in the market for a new vehicle then you should know something about tax season: tax refunds and car loans are a good match. *
That's because refunds, which have averaged around $3,000 in recent years, can provide many approved buyers with a ready-made down payment on their next ride, or at least a useful chunk of it. In turn, that money down may drop their monthly payment and provide useful savings on interest charges.
Let's see what kind of difference a tax refund might make when financing a car. A $3,000 refund, for example, goes a long way towards covering the typical 12% down payment on the average price of a new car, which was $38,948 in December 2019, according to Kelley Blue Book.
Here's how such a down payment might lower your financing costs. Let's say you're looking at buying a car for $20,0000 and you have a trade-in worth $5,000. Using our payment calculator, we can see that entering a loan amount of $20,000 (effectively $15,000 after the trade-in value), with a 72-month loan term, 3.9% APR, and $5,000 in the down payment field results in an estimated monthly payment of $234.
Adding $3,000 from a tax refund to make a total down payment of $8,000 reduces the monthly payment to $187 - a potential savings of $47 per month - and may also save you money on interest
This is another option for using a tax refund for a car purchase. Instead of allocating the money as a down payment, it could be used for making a number of monthly payments on the new auto loan. A refund of $3,000 could be used to make 11 payments of $269; almost a year's worth on a five year loan term. Not a bad start.
With an idea of what you can afford and how using a tax refunds may lower your costs, you'll me in good shape to research vehicles and make a great choice at Vern Eide Mitsubishi.
Turning your thoughts into auto lenders, consider getting approved for financing before you go.
Millions of consumers receive tax refund from Uncle Sam every year, and many of them put that money toward purchasing their next car, truck, or SUV.