Georgia Senator Pushes Extension For First-Time Buyer Tax Credit

If you are still trying to decide what your first home purchase will be, you may not have to beat the clock – yippie!  Bills to extend the maximum $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers, which expires Nov. 30, are pending in both the U.S. House and the Senate.

Senator Christopher J. Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat and chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, is co-sponsor of a bill with Georgia Republican Senator Johnny Isakson that would raise the credit amount to a maximum of $15,000.

Places To Love: CAMBRIDGE TOWNHOUSES

Beyond the $8,000 tax credit, do you want $10,000 for your next real estate purchase?  Well, you will love the townhomes at Cambridge.  This gated Sandy Springs townhouse community features prime Metro Atlanta real estate convenient to GA 400, Roswell Rd., Perimeter Mall, Northside Hospital, with quick access to the Chattahoochee Nature Center and River, and a golf course directly across the street.  

Cambridge‘s 3-story townhouses are modestly priced for their brick exterior and hot Sandy Springs location from the low to mid-$200,000s, making them a great real estate deal.  Three- and four-bedroom homes are available all with at least three full baths, hardwoods, stainless steel appliances among other high-end features that are custom to each home.  Some of the real estate units at Cambridge even have up to $10,000 in incentives to give future owners. 

Don’t Pay The Tax LEGALLY

With home prices low, now could be a good time for parents to give their children a home or even an investment property.

Here are some suggestions for managing the tax consequences from Mark Luscombe, tax analyst with Wolters Kluwer.

Give a cash gift. Individuals are allowed to gift up to $13,000 per person in a given year without incurring gift tax. That means a couple could give their offspring and spouse $52,000 in a single year to go toward a down payment.

 

**UPDATE on $8,000 Tax Credit

As I have recently blogged about,  FHA-approved lenders can now provide short-term bridge loans to first-time borrowers eligible for the $8,000 home buyer tax credit, which allows buyers to use the tax credit at closing and then they just pay back the loan once the refund is received.  But under guidance issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development late last week, the loans must be on top of — not instead of — the minimum 3.5% down payment normally required on FHA-insured loans.   So that means the $8,000 can go towards repairs required to close and other closing costs or can go towards your principal payment but you still have to come up with the down payment. 

How to Get Money For Your Home Renovations

Have you just purchased a home that needs some renovations?  Or, are you ready to remodel you current home? 

Well, you may be eligible to receive a free federal tax credit under the Recovery and Reinvestment Act for various renovations, which include but is not limited to:

Windows:  Approximately $750 per window installed. (Double-check with the contractor to make sure the model you’re buying qualifies for the tax credit.)

 
Roof:  From $5,000 to $20,000, depending on the materials for a 2,000-square-foot home. You only get the credit if you’ve installed an EnergyStar-rated asphalt or metal roof.

FHA BUYERS – More Details on Using the Tax Credit for Your Downpayment/Closing Costs

FHA-approved lenders received the go-ahead to develop bridge-loan products that enable first-time buyers to use the benefits of the federal tax credit upfront, according to eagerly awaited guidance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on so-called home buyer tax credit loans that was released today.

Under the guidance, FHA-approved lenders can develop bridge loans that home buyers can use to help cover their closing costs, buy down their interest rate, or put down more than the minimum 3.5 percent.

The loans can’t be used to cover the minimum 3.5 percent, senior HUD officials told reporters on a conference call Friday morning.

**NEW – Use the $8,000 Tax Credit As Your DOWN PAYMENT

Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, on Tuesday said that the Federal Housing Administration is going to permit its lenders to allow home buyers to use the $8,000 tax credit as a down payment.  Previously, most buyers wouldn’t receive the funds until after they filed their tax return, and that deterred some people from using the credit. The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® has been calling for the change.

How to Get An Extra $1800 For a Georgia Home

For Georgians, not only can you get up to $8,000 for a first-time home purchase, you now can get up to $1800 for any home purchase (whether you are a first-timer or not).  On Monday, May 11, Governor Sonny Perdue signed legislation into law that creates a new state income tax credit for home purchases in Georgia.  The tax credit will apply to purchases of eligible properties between June 1 and November 30, 2009, and is expected to spur activity in the housing market. 

IRS Guidance on First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit

The IRS released additional information to help homebuyers understand the ways they can file to receive the homebuyer credit. It is important for taxpayers to know that they must complete the purchase and close or take up residence in the case of new construction in order to be eligible to file for the credit. Here are the four main options listed by the IRS:

1) File an extension. Taxpayers who haven’t yet filed their 2008 returns but are buying a home soon can request a six-month extension to October 15. This step would be faster than waiting until next year to claim it on the 2009 tax return. Even with an extension, taxpayers could still file electronically, receiving their refund in as few as 10 days with direct deposit.

How to Claim Your Homebuyer Tax Credit

It is tax time again! 

And for those of you that have purchased your first home in 2009, congratulations!!  You have probably heard all the hoopla about the tax credit, of up to $8,000, first-time homebuyers can receive if they have purchased or plan to purchase a home in 2009 from Jan. 1 – Nov. 30 but you may not know what to do. 

If you (or someone you know) qualify for the 2009 First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit, it is very simple.  Check here to see if you do qualify: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204672,00.html.  If you qualify, when you file your taxes this year, be sure to turn in IRS form 5405 (click here for the form: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5405.pdf).  That’s it – it’s that simple. 

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