The legislation to extend the first time home buyer tax credit beyond its November 30 deadline and expand it to a wider group of home buyers was approved by Congress this week and signed by President Obama yesterday. Here are some of the highlights of the expanded and extended tax credit benefits:
- The $8,000 tax credit will be extended for first time home buyers (who have not owned a primary home for the last 3 years prior to purchase) for sales contracts entered into by April 30, 2010 and closed by June 30, 2010.
- The bill also includes a new $6,500 tax credit for current home owners who have been residing in their primary home for five years out of the last eight years. The sales contracts need to be entered into by April 30, 2010 and closed by June 30, 2010.
- The income eligibility limits to claim the full credit amount for both groups of home buyers have been raised from $75,000 (single taxpayers) and $150,000 (married taxpayers filing a joint return) to $125,000 for dividuals and $225,000 for married couples. The new income limits are only applicable to purchases occuring after November 6, 2009.
- Qualifying home prices are capped at $800,000.
More information available here.
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