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**Important note – The information below has changed slightly since the extension of the tax credit that took place on November 6, 2009.  If you are closing on a home after November 6, 2009,  please click here for our more recent discussion that explains what has changed with passage of the tax credit extension.**

The Federal government is giving away free money! There is no other way to say it. To help stimulate the economy and attempt to revitalize the real estate industry, the government has decided to put cash in the pockets of people that purchase a home between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009.

For the Federal Tax Credit, qualified homebuyers are eligible to receive a tax credit equal to 10% of the purchase of a qualifying home, up to $8,000.  (From here on, I will refer to the credit as being $8,000 since most home purchases will be more than $80,000.  This does not imply that any home purchases will get the $8,000 tax credit.  Any homes that are less than $80,000 will obviously receive less than an $8,000 tax credit.)

There are several qualifying requirements for the 2009 Federal First-Time Home buyer Tax Credit, including:

• Must qualify as a first- time homebuyer -borrower and/or spouse must not have owned a primary residence for three years prior to purchase of new home – You are allowed to have owned a home in the past as long as it was more than three years prior to closing on the new home purchase.
• Must claim credit after closing – If closing occurs after April 15th, there are two options available, the credit can be claimed on the 2009 tax return or the 2008 tax return, if previously filed, can be amended. – Shurek Accounting & Tax is happy to assist in this process.
• Must provide documentation with return – If filing by mail, a copy of your closing documents should be included with your return.  If filing electronically, please keep your papers handy as they may be required by the Internal Revenue Service before the tax credit is sent to you. – Big surprise here, you mean the Internal Revenue Service wants proof that I purchased a home before giving me $8,000 that I don’t have to pay back?
• Must be a primary residence - Rental property does not qualify for the tax credit. – You are allowed to have owned rental property, you just cannot have owned a primary residence for the last three years.
• Cannot purchase from a related person – You cannot have purchased the home from a related person.  A related person includes your spouse, ancestors (parents, grandparents, etc.) or lineal descendants (children, grandchildren, etc.). – This rule does not make sense to me.  Why can’t I buy a house from my grandmother to stimulate the economy?  I have to buy it from her neighbor to get the tax credit?  Sorry, can’t explain this one.
• Must remain a primary residence for 36 months – If you sell the home, rent it out, or convert the home to business property before 36 months have passed, you will be required to pay the $8,000 tax credit back.  The $8,000 will be considered as an additional tax due in the year that the property no longer can be considered your primary residence.  – Of course, there are some exceptions, but they are minimal and if this happens to you, Shurek Accounting & Tax will be available to advise you on the best course of action for your particular situation.  To keep it simple, if you are planning on claiming the tax credit, plan on staying in the home for three years or be prepared to pay the money back after you relocate.
• Must stay within income limitations – You are allowed the full amount of the credit as long as your modified adjusted gross income is less than $75,000 ($150,000 or less if married filing jointly).  The credit begins to phase-out as your income increases and the credit is completely eliminated when your modified adjusted gross income reaches $95,000 ($170,000 if married filing jointly). – Isn’t that an interesting spread that they chose?  So if you make $75,000 or less, you get the whole $8,000.  If you make $20,000 more, you get nothing.  Again, can’t really explain the logic behind that one.

This truly is a gift from the Federal government.  You get $8,000 for buying a home and staying in it for three years.  How simple is that?  Based on my past experience, most people stay in their homes for five years or more so this really is something that should be taken advantage of if you are in the market for a house or will be.  Especially with the real estate market the way it is.  You can get a steal on a house these days with all of the foreclosures and short sales that are out there and you get $8,000 to put in your pocket!  You can use this money to pay back the source of your down payment some or to help with the costs that naturally come with purchasing a new home.  Go ahead and buy new furniture and stainless steel appliances on the government!  Replace that ugly carpet that you compromised on when you bought the house.  My personal favorite, buy a pool table for the basement and of course a nice HDTV to put on the wall.  You can’t be expected to play pool without the nice tv!

My point here of course is that if you are in the position to still take advantage of this opportunity, do it!  Don’t buy a house in February of next year when you can buy it a few months sooner and pocket $8,000!

If you have questions about this issue and whether your situation qualifies, please leave a reply below and I will respond as soon as possible. If you do not want to leave your question on the website, you can always send an email to me at harry@mygeorgiaaccountant.com.

Sincerely,

Harry Shurek
Owner
Shurek Accounting & Tax