$8,000 Tax Credit: Extended Until April 30, 2010

You read that right, the Tax Credit has been extended until April 30, 2010. Now here is the scoop on the changes.

The original legislation provided an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers. The legislation passed by the Senate this week extends the $8,000 credit and expands it to provide a $6,500 tax credit to people looking to buy a new home after having owned and lived in a home for more than five years.

More than 70 percent of existing homeowners will now be eligible to take advantage of this program and use the credit to buy a new home.
Summary of the legislation:

Extends the $8,000 first time Homebuyers Tax Credit and creates a new $6,500 tax credit for homeowners buying a new home from December 1, 2009 to April 30, 2010.
Homebuyers with contracts as of April 30th qualify for the credit so long as they complete the transaction within 60 days.

Available to homebuyers with incomes of up to $125,000 for a single return or $225,000 for a joint return.

Available for homes costing up to $800,000.

Homebuyers who already own a home are only eligible if the home they are leaving has been used as a principal residence for five years or more.

If you're interested in finding a home in the Nashville area, try our convenient home search here or call Josh Anderson at (615) 509-7000.

House Extends $8,000 Tax Credit to Active Military for One More Year

On Monday, the House of Representatives unanimously to extend the $8,000 Tax Credit to all active military personnel, foreign service, and intelligence personnel for one more year, ending November 30, 2010. The bill now goes to the Senate, and is expected to pass with similar ease.

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) presented the bill, HR 3590, stating that military personnel serving oversees this year didn't have the same opportunity to take advantage of the tax credit. To qualify, military personnel must have spent a minimum of 90 calendar days of the current calendar year oversees, as well as the original qualifications (see our older blog) for the tax credit. Furthermore, it does not require the borrowers to pay back the tax credit if they are deployed after receiving it. The current tax credit requires borrowers to pay back the tax credit if they do not OCCUPY the home within three years after receiving the tax credit.

There is no information on whether the $8,000 tax credit will be extended for ALL eligible borrowers.

We'll keep you updated on the Senate approval.