$6,500 Home Buyer Tax Credit
Good news for prospective home-buyers: It looks like Congress will extend the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit that was slated to end this month and add a $6,500 tax credit for those that have already owned a home.
The Senate voted 98-0 Wednesday to extend and expand the tax credit and the House could vote on the bill as early as today. If passed, the $8,000 tax credit would remain in effect for first-time home buyers — or anyone who hasn’t owned a home in the last three years.
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Buyers who have owned their current homes at least five years would also now be eligible for tax credits of up to $6,500. To claim the credit, both groups of buyers would have to sign purchase agreements before April 30, 2010 and close before June 30. The tax credit would be extended until June 30, 2011 for servicemen and women serving overseas for at least 90 days.
The actual credit amount home buyers are eligible for is ten percent of their home purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000 for first-time home buyers and $6,500 for buyers who already own homes.
Who is Eligible for the Tax Credit?
To qualify for either credit, you must be purchasing a primary residence of less than $800,000 and cannot be purchasing the property from a direct relative.
You are eligible for the first-time home buyer tax credit if you:
- Have never owned a home
- Have not owned your primary residence for the last least three years
You are eligible for the $6,500 home buyer tax credit if you have lived in a home you own for five consecutive years out of the last eight years. Unfortunately, it does look like these new provisions still exclude some buyers from the credit. Buyers who have owned a home within the last three years, but did not own it for at least five years, cannot take the new credit.
Income Limits
The amount of the tax credit you can claim will be phased out for single taxpayers who earn more than $125,000 and joint taxpayers who earn more than $225,000.
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So, the $6500 will not apply to us…we sold a home (closed on September 25) and bought the home we live in right now (that closed on 10/30), so I assume this new tax credit will not apply to us since we already sold our home (that we lived in for 20 years) and JUST closed on the one we purchased…
I am in the same scenario.. owned my previous home for last 15 yrs and bought 2nd home n closed in March2009. I guess we’re just out of luck!!
Good news! Let the free money rain down us all
Nice guest post on Brian’s site btw. I responded.
FS
I purchased my first home on March 20, 2008 so I guess i’m out of luck with sucks really bad. They need to rework this to include more people!!!!!!
Grayce,
I agree. I bought just over 4 years ago and I thought about buying again. But I don’t qualify for the 5 year mark by only a few months. This was not well thought out.
I agree Matt. We bought our home June 2005 so we are short by several months too. It really sucks!
Does building a home count or does it have to be one you buy off of the market?
I love the US government. The harder you work for money and a home the less they give you.
Is there any one who can help I can’t find this answer anywhere. We just sold our home which we lived in for 5 years and 6 months. Can my in-laws cosign if my wife and I are a not first time home buyers but in the (Move-up repeat home buyer) tax credit bracket?? I realize that the First time home buyer credit applies with a cosign but what about our situation being the Move-up repeat home buyer $6,500 tax credit? Thanks in advance for responding to this question as we sign and cosign this week and want to make sure we are still eligible for the full credit with a cosign. And yes, we would be the Only residents of the home.
So what’s the answer on the $6500 credit, we just purchased our home in July of this year, I had previously owned my home for over 6 years. Am I not eligible for the $6500 credit?
I have a question of eligibility regarding the $6,500 “move up” home buyer tax credit.
I closed on my home on 12/31/03 and it is our primary residence. Last year I decided to sell my house when I found out a Registered Sex Offender was relocated next door. As a single mother of a nine year old I temporarily moved in with friend in July of 2008. This also gave me an opportunity to renovate the house in order to sell it. My mail was also forwarded to my friends address during this time.
We moved back to the house in June of 2009 when the work was completed and learned that the Sex Offender was sent back to prison. We are presently residing there full time now.
I did not rent the house and continued to pay the mortgage, utilities and taxes on the property during the entire time. I also spent most weekends and various other times at the house doing the renovations.
Will this time I spent at my friends house exclude me from the $6,500 tax credit? As a single parent with a low income this tax credit would be very important to me.
Thank you,