Goverment $8000 TAx Credit

firstimerr

Welcome to the forum


These are the guidign rules for $8000/- tax credit.

- The tax credit is for first-time home buyers only. For the tax credit program, the IRS defines a first-time home buyer as someone who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase.

-The tax credit does not have to be repaid, if you stay in the house for atleast 3 years.
-The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the homes purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000.
-The credit is available for homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009.
-Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit.
-For married taxpayers, the law tests the homeownership history of both the home buyer and his/her spouse
- Cannot purchase a home from your ancestors (parents, grandparents, etc.), your lineal descendants (children, grandchildren, etc.) or your spouse

Does any oen know if there is anythign offerd for the current home owner?

This sucks

I am not aware of any such deals except loan modification, but you need to prove financial hardship

if you have purchased your house after Jan 1, 09, you are eligible provided you are fulfilling other conditions of prog

What are the other requirments for eligibility

"you are eligible provided you are fulfilling other conditions of prog"

Hi firstimerr,

I think williamdona is referring to the income and other eligibility criteria for the tax credit, as have been mentioned in Realgeni's post. Williamdona mentioned one of the main criteria that the house must have been purchased before Jan 1, '09 to be considered eligible for the tax credit. But apart from this, there are other eligibility criteria (eg. you should not have owned a principal residence in the past 3 years etc.), which need to be met in order to qualify for the tax credit.

Does anyone have insight as to whether or not the gov't might extend the first time home buyer credit offer into next year? I've heard rumblings that it MAY be extended or possibly even increased but then again, that can be said about anything. Are there any reliable sources out there that may have leaked info on this program? (it's a stretch, I know, but I have to ask at least!).

Thanks.

fargus, your guess is as good as anyone else's. there has been quite a bit of speculation that it will be continued (and, perhaps, expanded). the credit began in 2008 at $7500 (repayable) and now this year's at $8000 is not repayable. without having any inside information, i'd not be at all surprised to find that there will be yet another credit for 2010.

of course, since this year's homes must be purchased by december 1, i don't know what a new credit will do for the month of december 2009. maybe it can be back-dated, so to speak, if the powers that be will it.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I had figured. I started looking recently and the odds are certainly not in my favor to close before December 1st. Thanks for the info!

mike, if your credentials are in order, it's just a matter of finding the right house (mr. right?). closing ought to be able to be arranged within 60 (maximum) days of your purchase contract - i'm being intentionally conservative on timing.

Oh yeah, I've done ample research and already have a mortgage broker/buyeres agent lined up... I am just in a relatively unique situation right now and the property I'm hoping for might not be "available" for a little while. Long story short, my long-time neighbor/landlord recently passed away from a tragic rafting accident and I am very interested in making an offer to buy the property from her family. Trouble is, it will likely take some time for them to get the estate in order before the sale can even be considered.

The location is perfect, the house is in great shape (considering the fact that its >100 years old), and the opportunity - provided the family decides to sell - is too good to pass up. I hate to benefit in circumstances like these, but at least I knew her and the vision she had for the property.

Thanks again for your help. Now to update my profile!

Oh yeah, I've done ample research and already have a mortgage broker/buyeres agent lined up... I am just in a relatively unique situation right now and the property I'm hoping for might not be "available" for a little while. Long story short, my long-time neighbor/landlord recently passed away from a tragic rafting accident and I am very interested in making an offer to buy the property from her family. Trouble is, it will likely take some time for them to get the estate in order before the sale can even be considered.

The location is perfect, the house is in great shape (considering the fact that its >100 years old), and the opportunity - provided the family decides to sell - is too good to pass up. I hate to benefit in circumstances like these, but at least I knew her and the vision she had for the property.

Thanks again for your help. Now to update my profile!

your profile? from the looks of your avatar, mike, you're already quite a handsome fellow!

now seriously...it seems like a good opportunity has landed in your lap, and you're right on in thinking that a sale is likely to take a while. it might just pay you to contact your legislators and urge them to consider continuing the tax credit in the future.

There have been several discussions about extendign the $8000 tax credit and also offerign something up to $15000/- with out any restrictions, but none of them have been finalized.

With the current hosuign data for the last two months, it does not look like it might come back, but if the situation changes then for sure you can expect see them comign back

Yeah, seems like the market is making a significant comeback (despite the ever-growing number of foreclosures) which does not bode well for me I suppose. Perhaps time to stop putting all of my eggs in one basket and look elsewhere.

I beleive, realistically speaking, at this point I only have a couple weeks left to look while still remaining eligible for the credit.