FROM: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204672,00.html
Expanded Tax Break Available
for 2009 First-Time Homebuyers
IR-2009-14, Feb. 25, 2009
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service announced
today that taxpayers who qualify for the first-time
homebuyer credit and purchase a home this year before
Dec. 1 have a special option available for claiming
the tax credit either on their 2008 tax returns due
April 15 or on their 2009 tax returns next year.
Qualifying taxpayers who buy a home this year before
Dec. 1 can get up to $8,000, or $4,000 for married filing
separately.
“For first-time homebuyers this year, this special
feature can put money in their pockets right now rather
than waiting another year to claim the tax credit,"
said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “This important
change gives qualifying homebuyers cash they do not
have to pay back.”
The IRS has posted a revised version of Form 5405,
First-Time Homebuyer Credit, on IRS.gov. The revised
form incorporates provisions from the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The instructions to the
revised Form 5405 provide additional information on
who can and cannot claim the credit, income limitations
and repayment of the credit.
This year, 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 IRS also alerted taxpayers that the new law does
not affect people who purchased a home after April 8,
2008, and on or before Dec. 31, 2008. For these taxpayers
who are claiming the credit on their 2008 tax returns,
the maximum credit remains 10 percent of the purchase
price, up to $7,500, or $3,750 for married individuals
filing separately. In addition, the credit for these
2008 purchases must be repaid in 15 equal installments
over 15 years, beginning with the 2010 tax year.
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