[Update Jan 2010] Following Congress approval, President Obama has signed off on the bill approving an extension of the $8,000 new home buyer tax credit until April 30th 2010. Also, the new provisions in the extension are NOT retroactive. Here is a summary of the new and updated provisions and their impact on you if you have or are planning to buy a house. New IRS forms and claiming instructions are also provided.

- Qualification Period : First-time home buyers who bought after January 1, 2009 and before April 1 2010 (with closing to take place before July 1 2010), would get the $8,000 home buyer tax credit. For the purposes of claiming the tax credit, the purchase date is the date when closing occurs and the title to the property transfers to the home owner. If you and your spouse claim the credit on a joint return (both of you must meet the income and past ownership criteria to qualify), each spouse is treated as having been allowed half of the credit for purposes of repaying the credit. So the total amount claimable is still only $8000 (up to April 30th 2010).

- Income qualification limits: The home buyers’ credit would be available to individuals with a modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) of up to $125,000, or $250,000 for couples, up from $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples under the original rules. The higher income limits are only for homes purchased after Nov. 6, 2009. That is, the existing MAGI phase-outs of $75,000 to $95,000 or $150,000 to $170,000 for joint filers still apply to purchases on or before Nov. 6, 2009. Those with incomes higher than the above limits do not qualify for any part of the tax credit.

- *NEW* Current Homeowners looking for a replacement primary residence could also qualify for a $6,500 (up to $3,250 for a married individual filing separately) under the new “long-time resident” provision. They must have lived in the same principal residence for any five-consecutive year period during the eight-year period that ended on the date the replacement home is purchased. This new provision also only applies to homes purchased after Nov. 6th 2009. The IRS has stepped up compliance checks involving the home buyer credit for those with past homes and they must provide a mortgage Interest Statement, Property tax records or Homeowner’s insurance records, to prove compliance with past residency criteria.

- Claiming the new home buyer credit: For qualifying purchases, taxpayers have the option of claiming the credit on either their 2009 or 2010 return. A new version of Form 5405, First-Time Home buyer Credit, is now available on the IRS website. Taxpayers claiming the credit on their 2009 returns, will not be able to file electronically because of the added documentation requirements, but instead will need to file a paper return by using the new version of Form 5405. A taxpayer who purchased a home on or before Nov. 6 and chooses to claim the credit on an original or amended 2008 return may continue to use the current version of Form 5405.

In addition to filling out a Form 5405, all eligible home buyers must include with their 2009 tax returns one of the following documents in order to receive the credit:

• A copy of the settlement statement showing all parties' names and signatures, property address, sales price, and date of purchase. Normally, this is the properly executed Form HUD-1, Settlement Statement.
• For mobile home purchasers who are unable to get a settlement statement, a copy of the executed retail sales contract showing all parties' names and signatures, property address, purchase price and date of purchase.
• For a newly constructed home where a settlement statement is not available, a copy of the certificate of occupancy showing the owner’s name, property address and date of the certificate.

The IRS expects to start processing 2009 tax returns claiming the home buyer credit in mid-February after it completes the updating and testing of systems to meet the law’s new requirements and to deter fraud related to the home buyer credit. Normally, it takes about four to eight weeks to get a refund claimed on a complete and accurate paper return where all required documents are attached. For those homebuyers filing early, the IRS expects the first refunds based on the homebuyer credit will be issued toward the end of March.

- The new $8000 credit can be used towards the down payment of a house bought in the credit qualifying period. You need to work with your lender to take advantage of this provision.

- Tax Credit Exclusions: Homes that cost more than $800,000 aren’t eligible for the credit and you must be over 18 years old to claim the credit (dependents are not eligible to claim the credit either). Those who sell their new home or stop using it as their main residence within three years would have to repay the credit. You cannot claim the credit if acquired your home by gift or inheritance OR if you acquired your home from a related person

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- If two or more unmarried individuals buy a main home, they can allocate the credit among the individual owners using any reasonable method. The total amount allocated cannot exceed the smaller of $8,000 or 10% of the purchase price. Note: A reasonable method is any method that does not allocate all or a part of the credit to a co-owner who is not eligible to claim that part of the credit (I would go with 50/50 as a reasonable method if one person is not eligible for the credit)

- The purchase date is how you decide which credit you are eligible for. Only homes purchased from Jan 1 2009 to April 1st 2010 are eligible for the fully refundable $8000 credit. If you constructed your main home, you are treated as having purchased it on the date you first occupied it.

- Foreign or Overseas Homes: You are considered a first time home buyer when buying an American residence, even if you owned principal residence outside of the United States within the previous three years. Non-resident alien's cannot claim the credit.

- Members of the Armed Forces and certain federal employees serving outside the U.S. have an extra year to buy a principal residence in the U.S. and still qualify for the credit. An eligible taxpayer must buy or enter into a binding contract to buy a home by April 30, 2011, and settle on the purchase by June 30, 2011.

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For more on all the 2009 tax credits and criteria see: 2009 Federal Income Tax Guide Features All The Stimulus Recovery Tax Break Details; Which Can Help People Save When Filing Returns in 2010
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[Previous Update] Senate votes 98-0 to extend the $8,000 first-time/new home buyer tax credit until April 30, 2010. House to vote by the end of the week, with President to sign into law before Thanksgiving.

A number of people are wondering if the $8000 new home buyer credit (detailed in the updates below) expiring on November 30th will be extended to all home buyers, and potentially increased to $15,000. This is particularly the case if they are considering a purchase in the next few months because they must go through the whole home buying process and close before the end date. Well, Bloomberg news reports that according to Senator Bill Nelson of Florida (D), Senate leaders are negotiating to extend and gradually reduce the $8,000 first home buyer tax credit through 2010. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus of Montana, both Democrats are seeking to add the home buyers extension to legislation extending unemployment benefits for 14 weeks.

The Senate bill to extend the credit contains the following new provisions:

- First-time home buyers who close before April 1 would get the full $8,000, and the credit’s value would be reduced by $2,000 in each successive quarter until expiring at the end of the year.

- The plan would extend the credit, due to expire Nov. 30, to home purchases under contract by April 30, 2010, with borrowers allowed another 60 days to close the sale, according to a person familiar with the details of the agreement.

- Current Homeowners looking for a new home could also qualify for a $6,500 credit if they have lived in their existing primary residence for at least five years

- The home buyers’ credit would be available to individuals earning up to $125,000, or $250,000 for couples, up from $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples under the current law.

- Tax Credit Exclusions: Homes that cost more than $800,000 aren’t eligible for the credit and you must be over 18 years old to claim the credit. Those who sell their new home or stop using it as their main residence within three years would have to repay the credit.

More than 1.2 million borrowers through Oct. 9 have claimed almost $8.5 billion of the $13.6 billion set aside for “first-time” home buyer tax credits this year. The program is aimed at easing the worst housing slump since the Great Depression and has been credited with boosting the economy and stock markets over summer. See this update and details below for the various bills under consideration to extend this tax credit.

Lawmakers are under pressure from real estate agents, mortgage brokers and home builders to extend the $8,000 credit before it expires Nov. 30. However, they are also facing pressure from governance groups and recent IRS reports claiming widespread fraud around claims for this lucrative credit. The IRS has identified 73,799 claims totaling almost $504 million that may not be from first-time home buyers. They also found that 582 taxpayers under 18 years old and ineligible to buy a home claimed almost $4 million in credits.

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[Updated October 2009] A number of people are wondering if the $8000 new home buyer credit (detailed below) expiring on December 1st will be extended to all home buyers, and potentially increased to $15,000. This is particularly the case if they are considering a purchase in the next few months because they must go through the whole home buying process and close before the end date. Further the stabilization of the housing market due to the 2008 credit and unprecedented success of the extended cash for clunkers program has shown that stimulus payments that directly help consumers seem to have the most impact. This means that the extension of the $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers will be a hotly debated topic in Washington over the next few months. There is a reasonable chance (particularly if the housing market falters again) that the credit will get a second life and be extended for another six to 12 months, taking pressure off buyers, realty agents and settlement companies.

An extension of the $8,000 U.S. homebuyer tax credit is gaining support in the Senate as bill sponsor John Isakson said he is rallying lawmakers to continue a program that helped boost home sales by more than 1 million. “I’m working the floor now to make everyone aware that the $8,000 credit sunsets” Isakson, a Georgia Republican. His legislation would extend the program through the end of 2010, almost double the credit to $15,000 and remove restrictions that prohibit individuals who already own homes or earn $75,000 - $150,000 for couples - from getting the tax break. The bill, first introduced in June 2009, failed in a 47-50 Senate vote in August.

Even President Obama is reviewing an extenstion of the bill with White House spokesman Robert Gibbs telling reporters today that President's economic team is looking at the tax credit and “evaluating the impact” on new home sales. “Through that evaluation we’ll come to something to give the president a recommendation,” Gibbs said.

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As reported in the Washington post the two biggest housing trade groups - the 1.2 million-member National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders - are mounting unusually intense lobbying campaigns to make the case for extending the credit, and maybe even expanding it (to $15,000 per the original bill). The effort is targeted first at the districts of members of the two tax-writing bodies, the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees, but is expected to cover most other members of Congress as well, according to officials of the two groups. Delegations of home builders and realty brokers already have begun descending on district offices, delivering what Jerry Howard, president and chief executive of the builders association, calls "the hard economic facts." They are the numbers of houses sold in each congressman's district that are attributable to the tax credit; the economic ripple effects on local businesses, manufacturers and service industries; the number of new jobs and income generated; plus the additional tax revenue that all this activity will help produce for local governments.

On a national basis, according to economists at the National Association of Realtors, anywhere from 300,000 to 350,000 additional sales of houses will be stimulated this year by the credit. Each home sale generates about $63,000 in downstream "ripple effects" elsewhere in the economy, they say. That includes sales of furnishings, appliances, lawn mowers, landscaping and renovation materials, plus moving expenses. If you accept the numbers - and some analysts consider them a stretch - this means the housing credit provides a powerful, immediate stimulus bang for the buck. Failure to extend what may be one of the most effective pieces of the Obama administration's 2009 stimulus legislation would cost jobs, economic growth and tax revenues, the housing groups argue.

But can any of this happen before the December 1st deadline? The key complicating factor here is Congress's heavy load of higher-profile, pressing issues (like health-care reform) that will get attention before anything else in September and October. On top of that, a tax-credit extension would cost billions in lost revenue - a big negative when the federal budget deficit is already wallowing in a record amount of red ink. In the end, however, given the political economics of the housing credit, the odds favor some sort of extension, probably later rather than sooner. But don't bank on it and if you are ready to purchase a home then do so sooner rather than later.
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[Updated June 2009] First-time home buyers can now use the $8,000 first home federal tax credit (detailed in previous update below) to help cover down payment and other upfront costs if they are taking out a loan backed by the Federal Housing Administration. (see FHA loan vs Conventional Loan differences). The $8,000 tax credit was made available months ago as part of the Obama administration's stimulus package in an effort to motivate would-be buyers and jump-start the housing market. But home buyers cannot claim the tax credit until they close on their homes, and then they must wait for weeks, possibly months, after filing their tax returns to receive the money.

To help buyers who need the cash upfront, FHA is allowing private lenders, state housing agencies and some nonprofit groups to offer loans secured by the tax credit. The Department of Housing and Urban Development, which includes FHA, estimates that this tax credit advance will enable tens of thousands of families to buy homes. Under HUD's plan, buyers cannot use the tax credit advance to pay the 3.5 percent down payment FHA mortgages require if they get the advance from a private lender. They can use it to add to that down payment or help defray closing costs.

[Updated May 14 2009] The IRS has now issued an updated Form 5405 which rules on a number of questions raised around the 2009 ($8000) and 2008 ($7500) home buyer tax credits. Here are some of the key IRS Rulings and other answers applicable to the the 200+ questions I received on this credit:

- The Credit can be claimed in this year's tax return by filing an amendment using Form 5405. Qualifying taxpayers who buy a home this year before Dec. 1 can get up to $8,000, or $4,000 for married filing separately.

- The new $8000 credit can be used towards the down payment of a house bought in the credit qualifying period. You need to work with your lender to take advantage of this provision.

- Unfortunately you still have to pay back the existing $7,500 credit (for homes bought between April 8, 2008, and before December 31, 2008). Unlike the $8,000 credit passed recently, the existing credit was not made retroactive. You generally must repay the credit over a 15-year period in 15 equal installments, starting in 2010

- To be eligible for the home buyer credit, your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) must be less than $95,000 or $170,000 (if married filing jointly) for the relevant tax year. The phase-out of the credit begins when your MAGI exceeds $75,000 or $150,000 (married filing jointly), meaning the amount of credit received decreases after these limits.

- You cannot claim the credit if acquired your home by gift or inheritance OR if you acquired your home from a related person

- If you and your spouse claim the credit on a joint return, each spouse is treated as having been allowed half of the credit for purposes of repaying the credit. So the total amount claimable is still $8000.

- [Recent Update] If you are married joint filers, both partners must meet the first-time home buyer criteria. This is to prevent double dipping, but is biased against married couples since single filers also get the $8000 credit. So if you are planning to get married this year to someone who has owned a home - you may want to buy a home first and get married in 2010.

- If two or more unmarried individuals buy a main home, they can allocate the credit among the individual owners using any reasonable method. The total amount allocated cannot exceed the smaller of $7,500 ($8,000 if you purchased your home in 2009) or 10% of the purchase price. Note: A reasonable method is any method that does not allocate all or a part of the credit to a co-owner who is not eligible to claim that part of the credit (I would go with 50/50 as a reasonable method if one person is not eligible for the credit)

- The purchase date is how you decide which credit you are eligible for. Only homes purchase from Jan 1 2009 to Dec 1 2009 are eligible for the fully refundable $8000 credit. If you constructed your main home, you are treated as having purchased it on the date you first occupied it.

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[Update Feb 18 2009] President Obama has now signed into law the $787 billion economic-recovery package. Unfortunately certain tax breaks, including the homer buyer tax credit, were scaled back to $8,000 (from the proposed $15,000) to get sufficient support for the stimulus bill's approval. This is $500 more than the current home buyer tax credit (outlined below), but will only be available for qualifying home purchases this year between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009. Buyers who bought houses last year are still covered under the existing $7,500 home owner credit.

The Senate's proposal to make this credit available to anyone regardless of income was also dropped and like the original $7,500 home owner tax will phase out for single taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes that exceed $75,000 (or $150,000 for married couples filing jointly). Further, if you sell the home within three years, you’ll forfeit the credit (or have to pay it back it you already claimed it).

However, the final stimulus plan did leave in the key provision that would eliminate the repayment requirement for the tax credit for first-time home buyers. This means that the home buyer tax break is a true tax credit and not a deduction, so will be an actual $8000 reduction on your next tax bill. If you don't owe that much and purchased a house in the qualifying period, you get a check back from the IRS.

FAQs on the New and Existing Home Buyer Tax Credit

I have received a lot of questions and over 70 comments on this post about the 2009 first-time home buyer tax credit. There are still details to be worked out and rulings to be made by the IRS, but here are some of the common questions and my answers.

Q: Will home buyers who made purchases last year between April 9 and Dec. 31, 2008 be eligible for the new credit? Or is the old $7,500 credit, which currently needs to be repaid, going to also be made exempt from repayment?

Answer: No. They will continue to be covered by the original $7,500 tax credit enacted last year for first-time home buyers. They still have to repay this amount based on the updated form 5405 guidelines.

Q: Can I claim the $8000 home buyer tax credit in my 2008 returns?

A: Yes. You can include it in your 2008 returns via form 5405. If you have already filed your 2008 taxes, you can file an amendment or adjust your paycheck withholding for the credit amount so that your take home pay for the rest of the 2009 is higher (For example, $8000 over 8 months, is an extra $1000 in your monthly paycheck). Qualifying taxpayers who buy a home this year before Dec. 1 can get up to $8,000, or $4,000 for married filing separately.

Q: If we bought in July of 2008, but have not used the credit, can we use the new proposed credit? If not, can I claim the difference between the old credit and new credit?

A: No. The current $8,000 credit is only for homes purchased this year. You can only claim the old $7,500 credit. However if you bought your house in January or February of 2009 and had already filed your returns under the old credit, you would eligible to file an amendment for claiming the additional $500 under the new credit.

Q: I am interested to know if the credit will be available to those putting down 3.5% as per FHA loans or if a 5% down payment is still required ?

A: No concrete word on the down payment requirement, but since the Senate proposal for a 15K housing credit was dropped I assume their 5% requirement was also dropped and that the current 3.5% FHA limit would stay in place. Also, remember the FHA loan has certain other criteria to meet which all borrowers may not qualify for. If you do get a loan through your bank or broker most likely you will need a 10 to 20% down payment in any case.

Q: Now that the bill is finalized. If I co-buy a house with someone who is not a first time home buyer. Can I claim the whole credit?

A: Qualifying taxpayers who buy a home this year before Dec. 1 can get up to $8,000, or $4,000 for married filing separately. If two or more unmarried individuals buy a main home, they can allocate the credit among the individual owners using any reasonable method. The total amount allocated cannot exceed the smaller of $7,500 ($8,000 if you purchased your home in 2009) or 10% of the purchase price. Note: A reasonable method is any method that does not allocate all or a part of the credit to a co-owner who is not eligible to claim that part of the credit (I would go with 50/50 as a reasonable method if one person is not eligible for the credit)

See the comments below for more lots more question and answers.
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[Update Feb 7th 2009] I received a lot of comments on an earlier article discussing details of the $800/$400 tax rebate under the economic recovery stimulus package. This is not surprising given the adverse economic climate and the large number of beneficiaries of the rebate. Another wide ranging item in the Obama administration's 2009 stimulus package, that has garnered as many questions and interest in the media, is the proposed $15,000 first-time home buyer (owner) tax credit. This proposal aims to double the existing $7,500 first time home buyer credit in addition to making it available to all and removing the obligation to pay it back in subsequent tax years.

Firstly, here is an outline of the current home owner credit and income thresholds:

The current home buyer credit (enacted last year) is equal to 10% of a properties purchase price up to $7,500, or $3,750.for a single filer. It works by reducing the 2009 tax liability OR as a credit to those who don't owe sufficient taxes. A "first-time home buyer" is a person or couple who had no ownership interest in a principal residence in the United States during the three years ended on the purchase date of the residence for which the credit is claimed. Thus, someone who formerly owned a home, then rented for several years, could qualify. The purchase must be on or after April 9, 2008, and before July 1, 2009.

Although the current home buyer credit is termed a refundable tax credit, it is essentially an interest-free loan that must be repaid in equal amounts over 15 years, starting the year after the credit is claimed. The credit is available to joint filers with modified adjusted gross income below $150,000 and phases out once income exceeds $170,000. For single filers, the numbers are $75,000 and $95,000.

The Obama administration felt that the current home owner tax credit was not sufficient to revive the ailing housing market and as a result strongly pushed for a doubling of it in the 2009 economic stimulus package.

Key aspects of the Increased Home Buyer Tax Credit:

• The stimulus plan (called a bill while in Congress) currently has 2 versions - The House version (aligned with what President Obama really wants) and the recently approved Senate version. The House bill did not change the tax credit amount, but added conditions that it would no longer require repayment. The Senate version of the home buyer tax credit raises the amount to $15,000, but you can only receive the credit if you owe federal income taxes. The final bill that the president signs will most likely combine the higher home buyer tax credit amount with minimal no repayment required. [I will update when this is finalized]
  
• If you have already used the current $7,500 home buyer tax credit, you cannot claim the $15,000 credit as well. The tax credit cannot be used to buy a second home either.
  
• Under the $15,000 Senate version of the home buyer tax credit provision, there are no income limits, unlike the current home owner tax credit which has a $150,000 income limit. Those who purchased a home in 2009 can claim the credit on their 2008 taxes (assuming the bill is approved in time).
  
• Home buyers would have two years to claim the tax credit, so buyers could claim a $7,500 credit in 2009 and a $7,500 credit in 2010. Because the Senate's version of the home buyer tax credit is paid against taxes owed, tax payers will benefit more than those with low incomes (who have a lower tax liability). Put another way, to get the full benefit of the home buyer tax credit, you would have to have tax liabilities of more than $15,000 (over 2 years).
  
• A 5% down payment (as opposed to the current 3.5% FHA limit) would be required to get the $15,000 tax credit.
  
• Even though the tax credit does not require repayment, buyers will have to pay it back if they sell the house less than two years after they buy it. This is to prevent investors and "flippers" from benefiting from this tax credit
  
• The new tax credit would take effect when the economic stimulus bill is signed by the president into law, and it would last for one year. It is expected that a final version of the stimulus package bill will be signed by the President on February 16th - President's day.

[Update] See this article for an overview of the key tax breaks in the final economic stimulus package. Also, read this post for more on Obama's $75 Billion Mortgage Modification Plan.

Related:

~ $1 Trillion Revised Bank Bailout & Housing Rescue Plan
~ Should I Refinance my Mortgage and Do I Qualify
~ A look at the Pros and Cons of Reverse Mortgages
~ Paying off your mortgage - what would you do with the spare cash?
~ Key Dates and Deadlines to Receive Economic Stimulus Working ($800/$400), Social ($250), Home ($8000), Vehicle Tax Credits and Payments
~ $300M Cash for Appliances Stimulus Rebate Program Covering Air Conditioners to Refrigerators to Washers
~ Taxes and Gains I Can Exclude When Selling My Home