$8,000 Tax Credit for Home Buyers Extended to April 30, 2010

$8,000 Tax Credit For Home Buyers

The $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers should entice some first-time home buyers to “jump-in” and buy a home, but it may prove to do little in increasing overall demand as first-time home buyers represent a small percentage of the entire market. Only time will tell if the tax credit is effective.

Do You Qualify?
To Qualify for the Tax Credit:

UPDATE: $8,000 Tax Credit Expanded, New Legislation Opens Tax Credit to Additional Buyers…

On Friday October 6th, 2009 the President signed into law a bill that changed the scope of the tax credit for “New Home Buyers”. The Bill not only extends the tax credit that was scheduled to expire November 30th 2009, it also changed the criteria for qualification. The new bill extends the expiration date on signing a sales contract to April 30, 2010 and the home must now close by June 30, 2010.

An additional year has been added to these dates for military personnel who have served extended duties outside of the U.S. The legal term “first time home buyer” is described to mean anyone who has not purchased a home in the past three years. For those who qualify you can claim up to 10% of the closing price of the home with a maximum credit of $8,000. This credit is refundable. What this means is that if you owe less than $8,000 in federal taxes the difference will be paid to you.

Additional expansion of the bill changes that MAGI (maximum adjusted gross income) of a single filer up from $95,000 to $125,000 and makes reduced tax credit available with a MAGI of $145,000. For married or joint filers with a MAGI of $170,000 or more found that they were ineligible under the old law. The new bill extends the MAGI for married or joint filers to phase out between $225,000 and $245,000. The available credit does not have to be repaid if you remain in the home for a period of three years.

If you are an existing homeowner who has lived in your primary residence for 5 of the last 8 years you can now qualify for a $6,500 tax credit on an additional home purchase. The new legislation mentions nothing about you being required to sell your 1st residence. The legislation only mentions that you would no longer qualify for tax breaks on your 1st residence.

Within the new law anti-fraud measures have been added. These measures were necessary due to the amount of people who claimed the home buyer’s tax credit and did not qualify. The new law prevents anyone who has been claimed as a dependant on someone else’s return from receiving the credit. The law also states that you must be 18 on the date of the purchase of the home to qualify. Additional anti-fraud measures require that you attach your settlement agreement to your tax return.

Source: Senators agree to extend homebuyer tax credit

See Also: Government Website – Home Buyer Tax Credits

BEGIN ORIGINAL $8,000 FIRST TIME HOMEBUYER CREDIT ARTICLE

In Colorado, President Obama signed the massive economic stimulus plan into law making the $8,000 home buyer tax credit official.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is a $787 billion stimulus package meant to save or create as many as 3.5 million jobs. The package allocates money for tax relief, state and local fiscal relief, infrastructure and science, protecting the vulnerable, health care, education and training, energy and other things.

This stimulus bill will help lead our nation towards debt levels not seen since the darkest days of World War II and represents the largest federal stimulus package in our nation’s history.

Stolen from CNN.com

The final plan set aside stimulus money at the cost of $2 billion – $8 billion for first-time home buyers as well as incentives for home owners that make energy saving improvements to their existing home. Although some incentives for home buyers were included in the final plan, the plan’s home buyer incentive fell short of the $15,000 home buyer tax credit requested by home builders and housing professionals across the nation.

Home Energy Credit

Tax Incentives for Improving Existing Residential Real Estate

• Homeowners can recoup up to 30% of the cost of installing energy saving features in their home
• The credit is valid on up to $1,500 of improvements
• Over $4 billion was allocated for the Home Energy Credit
• Examples of improvements: Energy Efficient Windows and Doors, Air Conditioning, Furnaces, Water Heaters

Breakdown of the Stimulus Package’s Expenditures

• Tax Relief – $288 Billion
• State and Local Fiscal Relief – $144 Billion
• Infrastructure and Science – $111 Billion
• Protecting the Venerable – $81 Billion
• Health Care – $59 Billion
• Education and Training – $53 Billion
• Energy – $43 Billion
• Other – $8 Billion

Tomorrow, in Arizona (America’s best state ), President Obama will outline a plan to help decrease foreclosures and help struggling homeowners meet their current financial commitments. The new plan is part of TARP 2, The 3 step financial Stability Plan involving a government investment of up to $2 trillion dollars. Limited TARP 2 details include analyzing and investing in struggling banks, creating a “bad bank” for purchasing unhealthy assets from financial institutions and investing funds in stimulating business and consumer lending.

Related Resources

Full Details of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Recovery.gov
Wikipedia About Economic Stimulus Plan

Related Posts

• February 12, 2009 -- Median Price of Homes: Record 12.4% Drop in 2008 to $180,100
• February 10, 2009 -- Senate Passes Economic Stimulus Plan – $15,000 tax Credit for Homebuyers Still In
• March 31, 2009 -- U.S. Commerce Department Reports New Home Sales Up
• March 5, 2009 -- New Home Communities in Nevada