First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit

A tax credit of up to $8,000 is now available for qualified first-time home buyers!

If you are a 1st time homebuyer and you purchase a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009, you qualify for a tax credit. Unlike the tax credit enacted in 2008, this new credit does not have to be repaid!

The tax credit is for first-time home buyers only.

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.

The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home’s 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.

UPDATES:

Tax Credit Can Be Used on Closing Costs

FHA-approved lenders received the go-ahead to develop bridge-loan products that enable first-time buyers to use the benefits of the federal tax credit upfront, according to eagerly awaited guidance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on so-called home buyer tax credit loans that was released today.

Under the guidance, FHA-approved lenders can develop bridge loans that home buyers can use to help cover their closing costs, buy down their interest rate, or put down more than the minimum 3.5 percent.

The loans can't be used to cover the minimum 3.5 percent, senior HUD officials told reporters on a conference call Friday morning. Thus, buyers applying for FHA-backed financing with an FHA-approved lender that offers a bridge-loan program can get a bridge loan to bring down the upfront costs of buying a home significantly but would still have to come up with the minimum 3.5 percent downpayment.There remain many sources of assistance for buyers needing help with the 3.5 percent downpayment, including many state and local government instrumentalities and nonprofit lenders.

Important Note:

Do not confuse the 2009 tax credit with the 2008 tax credit. The tax credit of 2008 was for $7,500 and it has to be paid back. Make sure you are reading, following, or researching the new tax credit of 2009. More money, no repayment! Please feel free to call me with any questions.

For additional information visit these sites:

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=206293,00.html

http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/2009/index.html

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Please feel free to call me with questions!

Email:

sandymichaels@msn.com

Sandy Michaels

REALTOR

Cell (360) 601-3490

Office (360) 822-7000

Realty Pro, Inc.

12000 SE Mill Plain Blvd, Vancouver, WA. 98684

All information is deemed accurate and reliable but not guaranteed.

Last revised: July 30, 2009