It amazes me at how many first time buyers still don’t know about the federal tax credit, so I thought I would take this opportunity to write about it, in hopes that someone will come across this post and benefit from it. There are a lot of rumors regarding this credit, so I want to go over who qualifies for it and what the requirements are.
The tax credit is a federal tax credit which is either 10% of the purchase price of the home, and not to exceed $8,000. The beauty of this tax credit is that regardless of where you are purchasing a home in IRVINE, 10% of the purchase price exceeds the $8,000; therefore, you will be able to take full advantage of the entire amount!
Requirements
- Principle Residence – The property purchased must be a taxpayer’s principle residence which the tax payer lives most of the time.
- Type of property – House, Condominium, townhome, manufactured home, apartment cooperative, houseboat, house trailer, or other types of property located in the U.S. will qualify.
- First time home buyer – The buyer and buyer’s spouse (if any) must not have owned a home within 3 years of the date of purchase to be considered a first time home buyer.
- Unoccupied Property – Property does not have to be new or unoccupied. May have been lived in previously
- Minimum Occupancy requirement – The property must be the purchasers principle residence for at least 36 months (3 years), otherwise credit must be repaid.
- Income restrictions – Adjusted gross income must be $75,000 or less ($150,000 for joint filers)
- Date of Purchase – Home must be purchased and escrow to close between January 1, 2009 to November 30, 2009.
- Refundable – Any amount of the credit not used to reduce taxes owed may be added to taxpayer’s tax refund check
- Repayment – The buyer does not need to repay tax credit as long as he/she owns and occupies the property for a period of at least 36 months.
For more detailed information on the first time home buyers federal tax credit and to learn more about the California $10,000 tax credit CLICK HERE!
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I though the tax credit was $7000…
I’ll take the $8000 any time. Thanks for the scoop.