The federal income tax credit for home buyers has been extended and expanded! Now, the program includes home owners who wish to move up or on to another residence after five years of living in their current home, as well as first-time home buyers.
The 2010 Homebuyer Tax Credit program is a program that can put you or someone you know in a new home. In order for the program to work well, people have to learn about the program and the nitty-gritty details of how the plan will work for them.
I have a girlfriend who just recently went into real estate. She was the first person to tell me about the option for homeowners to move if they had lived in their current home five consecutive of the past eight years. She told me that anyone I knew who was looking to move or to buy their first home NOW IS THE TIME.
The tax credits may not be continued, so if you are looking for a home, take a moment to view the video below and review the 2010 Homebuyer Tax Credits.
The Program in Brief
- The tax credit is for first-time home buyers only. The credit is calculated as 10 percent of the purchase price of the home, up to a maximum of $8,000. A first-time home buyer is a buyer who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase. If you are married and your spouse has owned a home during the past three years, you do not qualify for this credit.
- $6,500 tax credit is for homeowners who have lived in their current home for five consecutive of the last 8 years. Married couples must have lived together in the home for the entire time to qualify.
- Home buyers should have a written, binding contract by April 30, 2010 and close on the home by June 30, 2010. For the purposes of the tax credit, the purchase date is the date when closing occurs and the title to the property transfers to the home owner.
- Government home financing entities, such as HUD, may issue tax credit loans, which home buyers may use to satisfy the FHA 3.5 percent down payment requirement. These funds must be used for down payment and closing costs.
- There are income limits of $125,000 for singles, $225,000 for married couples with a $20,000 phase-out of the credit for both.
