Buying, Selling and Maintaining a Home – Homespace

This is the eighth in a 12-part series of weekly posts on the 2009 Home Buyer Tax Credit. To see all the posts in this series, click here.

As discussed in previous posts, if you are a first-time home buyer, the 2009 tax credit stimulus has a cap of $8,000; for those who currently own a home and plan to move there is a $6,500 cap. To qualify for the full home buyer tax credit, single individuals have to have a modified adjusted gross income of $125,000 or less; if you file jointly with another person you will be allowed a modified AGI of $225,000 or less. If you and your spouse file separately, the stimulus amount is reduced to $4,000 for each of you. You may still qualify for a partial tax credit if you exceed the maximum income guidelines.

There is an additional $20,000 “phase-out range” for those who make over the $125,000 income limit, so, essentially, you can claim some portion of the first-time home buyer tax credit until your modified AGI reaches $145,000. This phase-out amount is the same ($20,000) for both single and joint filers. Thus, a married couple will be phased out of the tax credit when their joint income reaches $245,000.

The 2009 home stimulus package is NOT retroactive; the $7,500 tax credit offered to home buyers in 2008 must be paid back over a fifteen-year period unless you sell your home earlier (should you do so, the entire amount will be due).

The 2009 tax credit, however, works a little differently. You won’t need to pay the tax credit back if you reside in the home (as your principal residence) for 36 months after the date you purchased your home.

You can find out more and download a free guide to tax credit information by clicking the following link:

2009 Home Buyers Tax Credit Guide-HS-1