If you are in the market for a new car and are in the United States, there are still a few incentives for you that you may want to consider before you plop down $30,000 on your new car.

Obviously the biggest government incentive this year was the Cash for Clunkers program, but just because you missed out on that, that doesn’t mean that the government doesn’t want to help in other ways (as long as you buy your car by December 31st anyway).

When you go to a car dealership, you an typically negotiate a deal. Other than that, you can get a sales tax deduction right now. When the federal stimulus bill was passed at the beginning of the year, any person who purchased a car after February 17th and before January 1, 2010 is able to get a sales tax deduction on their car.

The downside is that the deduction is limited to the first $49,500 of the car’s price and the deduction phases out for those who earn over $125,000 per year or married people filing jointly $250,000. Once the person earns $135,000 alone or $260,000 for joint filings, the deduction is eliminated.

Sure, you aren’t going to be getting a huge deduction from this, but something is better than nothing. Because the deduction is only on sales tax, if someone lives in a state that does not have sales tax, the deductions can be applied to fees that the state or local governments impose.

You can also get a tax credit if you purchase a hybrid. Popular cars like the Prius aren’t eligible for the credit anymore, but 2009 models that are eligible include some cars from Chrysler, Dodge, Saturn and Mazda. The credits range between $1,550 and $2,200.

For the 2010 models, the tax credits are a bit more limited. They’re available to mostly SUV hybrids.

If you are in the market for a new car and are in the United States, there are still a few incentives for you that you may want to consider before you plop down $30,000 on your new car.

Obviously the biggest government incentive this year was the Cash for Clunkers program, but just because you missed out on that, that doesn’t mean that the government doesn’t want to help in other ways (as long as you buy your car by December 31st anyway).

When you go to a car dealership, you an typically negotiate a deal. Other than that, you can get a sales tax deduction right now. When the federal stimulus bill was passed at the beginning of the year, any person who purchased a car after February 17th and before January 1, 2010 is able to get a sales tax deduction on their car.

The downside is that the deduction is limited to the first $49,500 of the car’s price and the deduction phases out for those who earn over $125,000 per year or married people filing jointly $250,000.  Once the person earns $135,000 alone or $260,000 for joint filings, the deduction is eliminated.

Sure, you aren’t going to be getting  a huge deduction from this, but something is better than nothing. Because the deduction is only on sales tax, if someone lives in a state that does not have sales tax, the deductions can be applied to fees that the state or local governments impose.

You can also get a tax credit if you purchase a hybrid. Popular cars like the Prius aren’t eligible for the credit anymore, but 2009 models that are eligible include some cars from Chrysler, Dodge, Saturn and Mazda. The credits range between $1,550 and $2,200.

For the 2010 models, the tax credits are a bit more limited. They’re available to mostly SUV hybrids.

Source

According to a Reuters survey, new construction of homes in the United States and permits for future buildings are on the rise. The actual numbers are supposed to come out today.

Chief economist Chris Low from the FTN Financial group in New York said, “New home sales have improved in recent months and new home inventories are likely to fall to a 27 year low in September, but there are still about twice as many existing homes on the market as there were the last time sales were this weak, suggesting it is still a very difficult environment for homebuilders.”

Luckily, the housing market may actually be showing signs of getting better. The housing market is the worst that it has been since the 1930′s and the slump actually began in 2006 but didn’t become widespread for a few years.

“We forecast residential investment will add to growth in the third quarter, the first positive contribution since the fourth quarter of 2005, and contribute an average of 0.8 percentage points to quarterly growth next year,” said Michelle Meyer, an economist at Barclays Capital in New York.

“As for home prices, we believe the freefall has decidedly ended but that it is too early to call the bottom. Moreover, foreclosures are likely to flow into the market at an accelerating pace, weighing on prices.”

Like the cash for clunkers program, there is a government incentive for new home buyers right now. There is an $8,000 government tax credit for those buying their first home that is set to expire next month. There are also expected to be more foreclosures on the market throughout the end of the year. When there are more foreclosures on the market, new homes won’t sell because many buyers find foreclosures can be too good of a deal to pass up.

Source