#425 - Tax Season 2026 Recap: What Dealers Saw and What Comes Next

About this episode

The episode discusses the outcomes of tax season 2026 for independent dealers and strategies for moving forward.

In this episode of the Independent Dealer Podcast, Jeff Watson and Luke Godwin break down the reality of tax season 2026 — what dealers actually saw, why customers didn't show up the way they expected, and what you need to do right now before the slow season sets in. From voluntary surrenders and charge-off severity to aged inventory strategy and ad spend adjustments, this is the post-tax debrief every independent dealer needs.What You'll Learn:Why tax season 2026 underperformed for many BHPH dealers — and what it signals about customer affordabilityHow outside lenders are competing for your buy here pay here customers with longer loan termsWhen and how to refinance or restructure a customer's payment to save an account before it turns into a repoThe right way to reprice aged inventory to generate leads fast without running to the auctionHow to tighten expenses, pay down credit lines, and fine-tune your ad spend coming out of tax seasonIf you're a buy here pay here or independent dealer trying to figure out your next move after a softer-than-expected tax season, this episode is your playbook. Support the businesses that support the podcast: Buckeye Risk Services - Reinsurance and…

People in this episode

Hosts: Jeff Watson, Luke Godwin

Topics covered

• tax season recap
• buy here pay here
• customer affordability
• inventory strategy
• ad spend adjustments

Keywords

• tax season
• BHPH dealers
• customer payment restructuring
• aged inventory
• ad spend

Sponsors

Buckeye Risk Services, BlytzPay, Ituran GPS

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