Federal Housing Tax credit

[MissouriFree]

For you all that bought a home this year or bought land and built your own don't forget to consider the Federal Housing Tax credit when doing your taxes his year. Less they keep the less they can waste.

Here is a link to some FAQ's that came up on another self builders forum i visit and thought you might be interested in. the important thing to look at are the dates. Seems that if some one buys a spread and signs the contract by 30 April they have a couple of months to close the deal and still get the credit.

For self builders pay note to FAQ 13 concerning land cost. If you built you own the CO is also a key date as that would be the same as closing on a purchase. so if you are building you oqwn and can meet the land purchase date and get CO in time you may get a good tax credit.


http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/faq1.php

[leera]

We bought a house last year,and you better believe we want our money......there is a catch however.....you have to file your regular return,wait until you get your money from that,AND THEN go BACK and have your tax return amended,and send it out again,it can't be E-filed either,it's got to be MAILED in.......but for what we're entitled to,I guess it's worth the extra hassle.

[Deberosa]

Oh there are more catches than that. You have to be a first time buyer or if you are a repeat buyer - have to close after June 30th. I closed May 27th. Never do get a break!!!!

[Teg]

Oh there are more catches than that. You have to be a first time buyer or if you are a repeat buyer - have to close after June 30th. I closed May 27th. Never do get a break!!!!

I think you may have mis-read the rules, Deb. Unless Jun 30th is your 3 year mark?

First-time home buyers purchasing any kind of home—new or resale—are eligible for the tax credit. To qualify for the tax credit, a home purchase must occur on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010. For the purposes of the tax credit, the purchase date is the date when closing occurs and the title to the property transfers to the home owner. A limited exception exists for certain contract for deed purchases and installment sale purchases. See the IRS website for more detail (http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=206291,00.html).

However, the law also allows home sales occurring by June 30, 2010 to qualify, provided they are due to a binding sales contract in force on or before April 30, 2010.

[Deberosa]

No, I am not a first time home buyer. But they added a 6500 credit for those buying a house who are not first time home buyers. Seemed a bit unfair to exclude people who already owned a house huh? Well, you had to live in your prior home for 5 years - OK did that for 6 years. And you had to close after June 30th. So they ship my job off shore, I have to sell my home at a 50K loss - move across the country giving away most of my "stuff", take a huge pay cut, Kurt quit his job. But I stay off of unemployment and I don't qualify for a break. I get to pay off a bail out to a bank that didn't even want to give me a loan!

It doesn't pay to work hard anymore - it's just stolen for the fat cats! I am STILL angry about it even though I mostly beat them at their game in that they could not destroy me entirely!

If you can find where a home buyer (not first time) who closed May 27, 2009 gets a break I would LOVE to see it!

[Teg]

Sorry to hear that Deb, I'm not a tax expert by any means but this article might have some info for you.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703808904574529512997057836.html

[MissouriFree]

I hope all who deserve a break on the taxes they pay get it but I noted the follow in the WSJ article:

3) The credits offer dollar-for-dollar reductions of tax and are refundable. This means that a taxpayer who doesn't pay enough tax to offset the credit can get a refund. For example, if you qualify for an $8,000 credit but only owe $5,000 in tax, you could receive a $3,000 check from the Internal Revenue Service

isn't wealth redistribution wonderful ??

sorry for bring this up in the general > Paul I guess you can move it to the bottom three.

[Quietgentleman]

Another entitlement to buy your votes.

QGM

[Anon001]

sorry for bring this up in the general > Paul I guess you can move it to the bottom three.

That's okay. If it doesn't turn into a political discussion, I'll leave it here for now.

Paul

[Deberosa]

Yeah well I think I'll be paying over $25,000 in taxes - far more than my salary for sure warrants! Penalty taxes for cashing out savings to manage to stay employed. That credit wasn't a gimme to me! Like I said I should have just stayed put and collected unemployment! I'm probably going to cash out another account just to pay the penalties on the first accounts!

If I bought a house last spring or summer, can I get a tax credit?
You qualify if you are a first-time buyer and meet the other requirements, but not if you are a repeat buyer. The new credit for repeat buyers applies only to purchases made after Nov. 6.

[Teg]

Sorry you are getting worked over Deb, a tax break for folks in your position that had to pull money out to survive a bad situation would be nice, but as it is perhaps you have some Karma coming your way for doing things the right way that will pay off for you down the road. :)

[Deberosa]

Thanks Teg. Last year was a tough one. We made it through but certainly not with a helping hand from the Government who brought this misfortune down on us in the first place!

[NCLee]

I hope all who deserve a break on the taxes they pay get it but I noted the follow in the WSJ article:

3) The credits offer dollar-for-dollar reductions of tax and are refundable. This means that a taxpayer who doesn't pay enough tax to offset the credit can get a refund. For example, if you qualify for an $8,000 credit but only owe $5,000 in tax, you could receive a $3,000 check from the Internal Revenue Service



Are you sure?

Doesn't work that way for the energy tax credit (max. $1,500 deduction) , as best I can determine.

For example: If
Federal taxes paid = $500. Tax credit = $1,500. Refund = $500 only.

So, I'm wondering if the homeowners tax credit works the same way. Can only utilize the amount that offsets taxes paid. ???

Lee

[MissouriFree]

It is becasue this is a " refundable" tax credit as opposed to the tax credits we are accustomed to . This is a fairly recent invention by the administration as a way to give away your tax dollars without it being so visable to the Public.

From the publication original posted:

General Information
Homebuyers who purchased a home in 2008, 2009 or 2010 may be able to take advantage of the first-time homebuyer credit. The credit:

Applies only to homes used as a taxpayer's principal residence.
Reduces a taxpayer's tax bill or increases his or her refund, dollar for dollar.
Is fully refundable, meaning the credit will be paid out to eligible taxpayers, even if they owe no tax or the credit is more than the tax owed.


http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204671,00.html

says
General Information
Homebuyers who purchased a home in 2008, 2009 or 2010 may be able to take advantage of the first-time homebuyer credit. The credit:

Applies only to homes used as a taxpayer's principal residence.
Reduces a taxpayer's tax bill or increases his or her refund, dollar for dollar.
Is fully refundable, meaning the credit will be paid out to eligible taxpayers, even if they owe no tax or the credit is more than the tax owed.

[NCLee]

Thanks for the clarification.

Lee

[leera]

I think Deb probably fell into that gray area where she gets screwed over over though she bought a house last year....taking a loss on her old place because property values have dropped so low,and then having to find a new place,but not quilifying for any of the credits because of the timing.

I found it interesting that the total closing costs add into the final purchase price of the house...we bought the house for $77,899,but with closing costs was well over 80K....so we get the full $8,000....don't fully understand it,but that's why I paid someone to do our taxes this year.

We did get screwed over on the property taxes though,even though we paid for the entire year(it's built into the closing),we didn't get to write any of it off because we didn't live in the house long enough in 2009.....

[recoilless_57mm]

Don't want to start any arguements here. I know, we are left playing this silly game of asking for our own money back. It seems to me the fed should allow us to keep the money we make with our hard work.

I am willing to throw down dollars to support a standing army at the federal level.

Remove nearly all the tax crap & I feel most of us would have a simpler life. I thought this is what most of the folks here were looking for.

OT