Top 5 Tax Season Strategies for Car Dealerships to Sell More Cars in 2025

Tax season is one of the biggest sales opportunities for car dealerships. Many consumers receive tax refunds, which often serve as down payments or full payments for vehicles. With rising costs, economic uncertainty, and shifting buyer behaviors, dealerships must be more strategic than ever to capture sales during this period.

To maximize tax-season success, dealerships must plan ahead, target the right buyers, and streamline their processes. Below are the top five best practices for 2025, designed to help you sell more cars and increase profits.

1. Create Tax Refund Promotions That Speak to Buyers

For many Americans, a tax refund is one of the largest lump sums of money they receive each year. Instead of saving it or using it for other expenses, a large number of consumers use it as a down payment for a car. Your dealership needs to be ready to capture those buyers with compelling offers.

Best Tax Refund Promotions to Offer

✅ “Double Your Tax Refund” Offers

• Offer to match a portion of the customer’s tax refund as a down payment incentive.

• Example: If a buyer puts down $1,500 in tax refund money, the dealership adds another $1,500, reducing their financed amount.

• Why it works: Many customers feel their tax refund alone isn’t enough for a down payment, so this motivates them to buy now.

✅ Low or No Down Payment Options

• Customers may not have large tax refunds, so make financing easier by offering low or no down payment promotions.

• Partner with lenders that specialize in $0 down programs to make car ownership more accessible.

• Why it works: Tax-time buyers are eager but may be hesitant to part with all their refund money—this gives them flexibility.

✅ Cash Buyer

• Offer alternatives to Cash buyers that allows them to upgrade to the next level using their cash as a down payment, this allows you to offer options without having to immediately discount or battler the customer.

• Treat every customer like they are the only one, no matter what or how they are purchasing a vehicle 800% of the time.

✅ Referral Bonuses for Tax-Time Buyers

• Offer a $100-$250 bonus to buyers who bring in friends or family to purchase a vehicle during tax season.

• Everyone knows someone that gets a tax return and everyone needs a car, feed into the tax time frenzy by offering additional opportunities for the customer to make money as well!

• Create a sense of urgency by making it a limited-time offer.

• Why it works: Buyers love to share good deals, and word-of-mouth marketing can drive extra sales.

💡 Pro Tip: Partner with local tax preparation services and offer free tax filing with a test drive or purchase.

2. Optimize Your Subprime Financing Strategy

Tax season brings a surge of credit-challenged buyers who often struggle to get approved for auto loans. If your dealership can work with subprime lenders, you’ll be able to sell more cars to buyers who need them most.

How to Improve Your Subprime Financing Success

✅ Expand Your Lender Network

• The more subprime auto lenders your dealership works with, the higher your approval rates.

• Connect with credit unions, in-house financing options, and high-risk lenders to help a wider audience.

• Why it works: Having multiple lending options allows you to tailor financing solutions to different buyer situations.

• Know your lender programs like the back of your hand and have relationships with the banks that are even stronger, it's a two way street, we went to lean heavily on them to maximize every opportunity but we beed to offer the same reciprocity, they're in the same boat us and its easier if we row in the same direction.

✅ Sell to Customers on Credit Rebuilding

• Many tax-time buyers are looking for a fresh start—highlight how buying a car can improve their credit.

• Use marketing messages like:
  “Drive Today, Rebuild Your Credit for Tomorrow!”

• Why it works: Customers with past credit issues want solutions, and positioning the car purchase as a step toward financial recovery makes them more likely to buy.

• Educate the consumer on how to repair and rebuild their credit with a vehicle purchase, building hope that this is the stepping stone to getting your credit back on track.

✅ Pre-Qualify Online

• Offer a soft credit check tool on your website so buyers can get pre-approved before visiting the dealership.

• Showcase pre-qualification success stories on social media to build trust.

• Why it works: Pre-qualified leads are more likely to visit your dealership and convert faster.

• Use Tools and Software that allow you to collect all documents, information and insights needed to provide the customer with all the information they need to make a decision.

✅ BDC Training on Subprime Leads

• Train your BDC team to handle credit-challenged customers with confidence and empathy.

• Teach them how to explain lender requirements and set proper expectations.

• Why it works: Many customers fear rejection—if your team guides them through the process smoothly, they’ll trust your dealership more.

• Have a documented process of how to handle leads and the correct steps to ensure the customer experience is the same as if they had an 800 score, everyone deserves to have a pleasurable buying experience, regardless of credit.

💡 Pro Tip: Mine your CRM for past declined buyers and re-engage them during tax season with a fresh offer.

3. Run Targeted Digital Marketing Campaigns with AI-Generated Ads

In 2025, digital marketing is the #1 driver of tax-time leads. Your dealership must be highly visible across social media, Google, and email to attract the right buyers.

Best Practices for Tax Season Digital Marketing

✅ Social Media Ads

• Create highly targeted Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok ads promoting your tax refund deals.

• Target credit-challenged buyers, first-time buyers, and cash buyers looking for deals.

• Why it works: Social media has the highest engagement rates among car shoppers, making it the perfect platform for tax-season promotions.

• Vin Specific Carousel Ad's with Great deals prime for tax season.

• The entire Sales team should be posting on social media about special savings and inventory during this season. Sometimes a picture or video will turn a non buyer into a shopper, feed the curiosity.

✅ Google PPC Campaigns

• Use high-intent search terms like:

  • “Buy a car with tax refund near me”

  • “Best tax refund car deals 2025”

• Optimize ads with location-based targeting for better ROI.

• Why it works: People searching for these terms are ready to buy—your dealership needs to be the first option they see.

✅ Video Marketing with Sora AI

• Use AI-generated video ads with Sora AI to create modern, engaging promotions using dealership footage.

• Why it works: AI-powered ads are faster to produce, cost-effective, and highly engaging, making them perfect for dynamic seasonal marketing.

💡 Pro Tip: Use geo-targeting to focus ads on areas with the highest average tax refunds to improve your ROI.

4. Make the Buying Process Simple & Fast

Tax-time buyers are ready to purchase but don’t want to deal with delays. A slow process kills sales.

How to Streamline the Buying Process

✅ Pre-Approval Online

• Allow customers to check their financing options before visiting the dealership.

• Allow the customer to work the Deal from Start to Finish from the comfort of their convenience.

✅ Speed Up F&I Processes

• Use digital contracting and e-signatures to reduce time spent in F&I.

✅ Offer Express Pickup & Delivery

• Let buyers complete most of the purchase online and pick up their car in under 60 minutes.

💡 Pro Tip: Offer a "48-Hour Tax Time Delivery Guarantee" to attract busy customers.

5. Train Your Sales and BDC Teams for Tax Season Leads

A well-trained sales and BDC team can convert more leads into deals during tax time.

Key Areas of Tax Season Training

✅ BDC Training on Tax Refund Leads

• Teach your team how to ask the right questions to uncover tax-time buyers.

✅ Sales Training on Overcoming Objections

• Equip your salespeople with word tracks to handle buyers concerned about credit, pricing, or financing.

✅ Increase Follow-Up Cadence

• Make sure your team follows up aggressively during tax season—leads go cold fast!

• Introduce more touch points with tax time messaging to really drive home the message, introducing a face of authority with this message only amplify's this, have a plan and structured process for increasing this communication and who will lead the charge.

Final Thoughts: Turn Tax Season Into Your Dealership’s Biggest Sales Event

At 800% Elite Automotive, we help dealerships across the USA and Canada maximize every tax-season opportunity by training sales, BDC, and F&I teams to handle tax refund buyers effectively, optimize subprime financing, and streamline operations for maximum conversions.

💰 Are you ready to dominate tax season in 2025? Let’s get your dealership prepared! Contact 800% Elite Automotive today. 🚀

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