Great news for those of you still wanting to buy a home and thinking you've missed the $8,000 Tax Credit!! The Senate voted Wednesday November, 4, 2009 to extend and expand the tax credit to include many buyers who already own homes.
Buyers who have owned their current homes at least five years would be eligible for tax credits up to $6,500 and the bill extends the $8,000 tax credit to those first time home buyers who haven't owned a home in the last three years. To qualify, buyers in both groups have to have a signed purchase agreement by April 30, 2010, and close by June 30, 2010.
An article I read entitled, "Congress set to expand home buyer tax credit," by Stephen Ohlemacher, a writer from the Associated Press, quotes Senator Johnny Isakson, a Republican from Georgia who is a former real estate executive who championed the credits, "This is probably the last extension." "We are still in a world of economic hurt, and Congress must continue to act boldly and creatively," said Senator Max Baucus, a Democrat from Montana, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. "With the right mix of tax breaks and investments we will get through this recession and get folks working again."
According to this article, extending and expanding the tax credit for home buyers is estimated to cost the government about "$10.8 billion in lost taxes."
The credit is available for the purchase of principal homes costing $800,000 or less, meaning vacation homes are ineligible. The credit would also be phased out for those folks with annual incomes above $125,000 and for joint filers with incomes above $225,000.
For members of the military serving outside the United States for at least 90 days and more, the credit will extend until June 30, 2011.
This bill is H.R. 3548.
The house is scheduled to vote on this bill today, Thursday, November 5, 2009. Stay Tuned.....