Can current homeowners get 1st time credit?
Congress has passed and President Obama has signed into law HR 3548, the Worker, Homeownership & Business Assistance Act of 2009. While the law extends unemployment benefits unemployment benefits, it is the extension and expansion of the first-time homebuyers credit that is noteworthy.
The $8,000 first-time homebuyers credit, authorized in the passage of The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, was set to expire on November 30, 2009. Under the new Act, an eligible taxpayer must buy, or enter into a binding contract to buy, a principal residence on or before April 30, 2010 and close on the home by June 30, 2010.
Even more notable is the fact that long-time residents of the same home can now qualify for a reduced credit. You can qualify for the credit if you lived in the same principal residence for any five-consecutive year period during the eight-year period that ended on the date the new home is purchased and the settlement date is after November 6, 2009. The maximum credit for long-time residents is $6,500.
For even more information, check out the December, 2009 newsletter on this site.
