First-Time Homebuyer Credit Extended to April 30; Some Current Homeowners Now Also Qualify
| Posted On Thursday, 25 February 2010 22:54
WASHINGTON — A new law that went into effect Nov. 6, 2009 extends the first-time homebuyer credit five months and expands the eligibility requirements for purchasers.
The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 extends the deadline for qualifying home purchases from Nov. 30, 2009, to April 30, 2010. Additionally, if a buyer enters into a binding contract by April 30, 2010, the buyer has until June 30, 2010, to settle on the purchase.
The maximum credit amount remains at $8,000 for a first-time homebuyer –– that is, a buyer who has not owned a primary residence during the three years up to the date of purchase.
But the new law also provides a “long-time resident” credit of up to $6,500 to others who do not qualify as “first-time homebuyers.” To qualify this way, a buyer must have owned and used the same home as a principal or primary residence for at least five consecutive years of the eight-year period ending on the date of purchase of a new home as a primary residence.
For all qualifying purchases in 2010, taxpayers have the option of claiming the credit on either their 2009 or 2010 tax returns.
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NAR issues Call to Action: Extend $8K credit
| Posted On Wednesday, 16 September 2009 13:29
WASHINGTON – Sept. 15, 2009 – The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) is calling upon its 1.2 million members to urge Congress to extend the successful homebuyer tax credit into next year.
Since the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit's inception, 1.2 million new buyers have entered the market. Of those new homebuyers, 350,000 would not have purchased a home if the tax credit had not been offered, according to NAR. The credit is due to expire Nov. 30, 2009.
“Now is the time for Congress to keep this recovery going by extending the tax credit through 2010 and making it available to more homebuyers,” says NAR President Charles McMillan. “We have all seen how the credit has been a spur to bring homebuyers into the market, and have seen the beginnings of a real recovery in the housing market. Housing has always led this nation out of economic downturns and can do so again.”
NAR has asked all Realtors to write their U.S. senators and representatives to tell them of their successes with the tax credit thus far – and to press Congress to extend and expand it.
“The credit needs to be available for an additional period of time…
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