This is one of the best blogs I have seen regarding information regarding the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit. Thank you Sheldon Neal for such an informative blog post ! Is great to see that buyers can benefit from this now !!!
Sheldon is not only a fantastic writer and blogger but a great person - very genuine and real ! We had the opportunity to meet at a recent real estate conference in Philadelphia. He will definitely be a contact person for buyer or seller referrals where he specializes in Bergen County, NJ !!
This is an actual check from one of my First Time Buyers who bought a home last month, and immediately filed his 2008 tax return - which he had already filed an extension for - and this week received the above check !
... before his home purchase, his return was going to give him a refund of approximately $4,000 !!!! ... as you can see, he qualified for the tax credit, and received $8,000 additional dollars from the government for buying his home.
@@@ FOR FURTHER INFORMATION - BE SURE TO CONSULT YOUR ACCOUNTANT TO SEE IF YOU CAN RECEIVE THIS YOURSELF @@@
Per the IRS.gov website, you may qualify to receive this credit if you meet the following qualifications:
"... qualifying taxpayers who buy a home before Dec. 1, 2009, can claim the credit on either their 2008 or 2009 tax returns. They do not have to repay the credit, provided the home remains their main home for 36 months after the purchase date. They can claim 10 percent of the purchase price up to $8,000, or $4,000 for married individuals filing separately.
The amount of the credit begins to phase out for taxpayers whose adjusted gross income is more than $75,000, or $150,000 for joint filers.
For purposes of the credit, you are considered to be a first-time homebuyer if you, and your spouse if you are married, did not own any other main home during the three-year period ending on the date of purchase."
The credit itself:
- Applies to purchases that close after April 8, 2008, and before Dec. 1, 2009.
- 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.
So if you were considering buying a home this year - be sure to talk to your accountant as you may also qualify to get $8,000 extra dollars for buying your first home !
ALSO: Be sure to check out a post from respected Loan Officer Jeff Belonger explaining how you may be able to receive an 'up front loan' for this credit to use towards closing costs or additional downpayment over your mandatory 3.5% payment on your FHA loan !
@@@PLEASE NOTE: ALL INFORMATION ABOVE DEEMED RELIABLE PER THE IRS.GOV WEBSITE, HOWEVER IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT ANY POINT ON ANY DAY ! - CONSULT YOUR TAX ACCOUNTANT BEFORE EXPECTING ANY PORTION OF THIS CREDIT.
@@@@ UPDATED: BELOW IS THE FORM NEEDED TO FILE FOR THIS CREDIT IF YOU QUALIFY - YOUR ACCOUNTANT SHOULD HAVE IT AND WALK YOU THOUGH IT ! GOOD LUCK !
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That's amazing..and they are saying that they will allow the credit as a down payment... not sure how that will work. )
Great news and I hope that a lot of 1st time homebuyers will take adantage of the credit. Konnie you will want to read George Scouto's blog about the possible use of the credit as a downpayment.. it is complicated.
Chris ..What a wonderful post..but all yours are wonderful..and Sheldon is really Great too glad to have met him and lets not forget big Jeff..Thank you for the fantastic information ..I hope everyone who is qualified to take advantage of this Gift does not miss out .
.time is running out!
Helpfulhannh your friend in Philadelphia
I remember seeing this post. Its great to see it working.
NICE! Thank you so much for posting. I love happy endings and we just aren't seeing them like we use to so I am so glad you put this up for us to see!
I thought Sheldon did a fantastic job with his post too! I can not imagine getting a check that large in the mail.
Christopher and Stephanie:
That's great! Every little bit helps.
Richard
Thanks for the comments on this post ! It is great that First Time Homebuyers can benefit greatly with this $8,000 tax credit from just buying a home. I think that the market will actually pick up a little bit as we get closer to the deadline of November 30.
I still strongly believe that the tax credit should have been made available to ALL buyers as that would have been real stimulus but this is not too bad ! I know many of our buyers have already amended their tax returns as well and are pumped up about getting this check ! ~ Chris