Comments on: $7500 First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:40:35 +0000

Okay, I know I’m going to get slammed for this and seem very irresponsible…but here it goes. I was with my company for six years and moved several times with this company. My last move was to an area where I could actually afford to finally buy a house. My wife and I had 2 daughters and she was giving birth to twin boys right when we moved to this area. So we bought the house, had the twins, took the tax credit (purchased house in 9/2008). Just like with so many others, the recession got the best of me and my position with the company was eliminated. We couldn’t make ends meet, we used our tax credit to pay bills (mostly credit cards and medical). My wife finally said that she couldn’t take it anymore and wanted to move back to her country. So in a drastic move, we put the house up for short sale and left the United States. We just recently sold the house for nearly $50,000 less than the purchase price. The short sale was approved and it’s all finished now. My question is, how badly am I going to get hit this tax season. Are they going to make me repay all $7500 at once? I’m living outside of the US and waiting for my residency papers so that I can work here. Repayment is going to be really tough. Like I said…I know how irresponsible this makes me look, so don’t be too brutal. Any comments would be appreciated.

By: OhMan

OhMan — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:02:09 +0000

I bought my house May 8th and submitted for the first time home buyers credit on my 2008 taxes on May 12th. I still haven’t recieved any money. My file went through exams and they approved the return on Aug 31st. It has been a total of 180 days. Here is my message to the President: Mr. Obama, The reason this economy isn’t doing better is because the people responsible for handling your incentives are slackers or just plain stupid. DO NOT COUNT ON THIS MONEY FOR ANYTHING IMPORTANT!

By: madbuyer

madbuyer — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:13:08 +0000

honestly most of you who qualify should feel blessed to have the opportunity to take advantage. The disadvantage are to those who bought prior to April 2008 but havnt been in long enough to qualify for the new tax credit. This system is designed to get us and keep us in a rut. a lot of folks who bought during the peak of the housing are stuck in inflatedly priced homes and are housebroke, ans still the government refuses to help those folks. when i file for bankruptcy, im never borrowing money for anything again

By: Malone

Malone — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 22:08:18 +0000

I agree with Joe, I bought in August of last year and got the $7,500. agreeing to pay back the $500.00 each year for the next 15 years, everywhere you looked it was do it now the tax credit will not last. NOW, they pass the tax credit for $8,000. with NO REPAYMENT! I do not feel this is right, those who are eligible (purchased a home between 4/1/08 – 7/1/09) for the $8,000. tax credit, but got hooked into the 7500. should have the ability to reapply and pay back the 7500. with the credit from the 8000. Only fair!

By: tikaykay

tikaykay — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 03:09:10 +0000

I sent my 7500 tax credit by mail after I filed my income tax. ‘Haven’t received any response until now. Please help!

By: tikaykay

tikaykay — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 03:03:32 +0000

I send my 7500 tax credit by mail after I filed my income tax. ‘Haven’t received any response until now. Please help!

By: April

April — Sat, 30 May 2009 18:16:04 +0000

could anyone give me the right number to irs to check the status of the amendment.

By: joe

joe — Sat, 30 May 2009 13:40:58 +0000

I dont get this, how does a person who bought their house in 2008 at a higher interest rate and higher home price get 7500 that has to get paid back, yet a person who buys a house in 2009 at a lower interest rate and cheaper house price get 8000 that does not have to get paid back. The way i see it is you shouldnt give anybody anything but if you are going to give tax dollars away why does one pesron have to pay back and the other person get a free ride

By: Darlene

Darlene — Fri, 22 May 2009 11:46:55 +0000

People have short memories! The real estate market was crazy between 2005-2007 and everyone complained about how expensive it was to purchase. Homeowners were asking astronomical prices for cardboard boxes.

Now prices have fallen through the floor, vacant properties are destroying neighborhoods and the government is providing incentives to get nervous buyers back into the market.

If you were able to buy “before” the tax credit – count your blessings and stop denigrating those who can take advantage of the benefit. Believe it or not some of the homebuyers are taxpayers too. Grants have always been available in some form from organizations out there and not everyone could benefit – I couldn’t. I was lucky enough to have held off buying and now there is incentive for me to jump into the market without taking a huge chunk out of my account.

Like many people, I’ve been watching the market and managing my pennies and will stay within my means. Hopefully the economy will get moving again.

By: April

April — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 13:13:08 +0000

could you file your own 7500 tax credict forms and send it off yourself or do you have to go to a place of business?

By: April

April — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 14:08:25 +0000

im not sure about that but i thought it would be a separate from your income tax only if you did both on the same day i thought irs would deposit your full amount together if its done that way.

By: Ross

Ross — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 20:53:40 +0000

Your refund will be included in your tax refund, or will offset the amount of taxes you owed. In short, you will only receive one check or deposit from the federal government.

By: sue walton

sue walton — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 20:34:10 +0000

is this first time home buyer credit separate from your refund of is it included in your refund? i thought i would be getting a separate check or automatic deposit in my bank account that was just for $7500 i was eligable for.

By: April

April — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 04:37:04 +0000

thanks! another thing i did i filed my taxes in feb & applied for the tax credict on mar 03-09 i was wondering was that a reason y didn’t recieve it in 2 weeks instead i have to wait until 6 to 8 weeks?

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 02:37:00 +0000

If you sent your tax return by mail it takes 6-8 weeks. If you e-filed your return, it only takes about 10 days. You can go online to irs.gov and check the status of your return and make sure that it is not being held up for some reason. If it is, you will get instructions that will tell you a number to call etc… I have called them before and it is not too bad. My son bought a house in Feb. tried to file his tax return with the tax credit the same day by efile but the irs was not set up to take efile on the tax credit yet. He waited two weeks and got his whopping check in 10 days!

By: April

April — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 01:56:58 +0000

anyone with answers?

By: April

April — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 01:55:22 +0000

hello i was wondering i filed for my tax credit on mar 3rd and sent off my paper work the same day why do i have to wait 6 to 8 weeks for me to recieve my tax credit? and will i actually recieve it its now my 6th week and im still waiting.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 03:08:26 +0000

KM,
I am sorry, there is no tax credit available to you.

By: KM

KM — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 02:53:57 +0000

This is incredibly confusing! Is there any credit for a first-time home buyer (me) who closed on February 1st, 2008? If so, do you know what form i would use to claim it?
Surely, there were credits for home purchase before last year? What are MY options? I could just cry right now given these numbers and dates. Please help if you can. Thanks. ~KM

By: Lee

Lee — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 00:22:31 +0000

I know that the IRS will allow the 7500.00 credit

“If you constructed your main home, you are treated as having purchased it on the date you first occupied it.”

I closed on my house April 1st 2008 but did not occupy it until mid May. Does the rule only apply to new construction or would a situation like mine be eligible for the credit?
Thanks in advance- Lee

By: Ross

Ross — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:02:43 +0000

@Stephen

The dates are based on the day you closed on the house.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 06:25:33 +0000

I have a question! So the tax credit is for home purchased AFTER April 8, 2008. What would be the purchase date? Is it the day you acquire the home? b/c the settlement for my home was exactly on April 8, 2008 but I didnt get the keys to the house 2 days after that. So do I still qualify for this tax credit?

By: Darlene

Darlene — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:26:30 +0000

A true credit should be for all ……no repayment of the $7500 or the $8000. Make it a FAIR stimulus package.

By: Darlene

Darlene — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:22:04 +0000

To those of you who qualify for the $7500 tax credit that HAS to be repaid…..PLEASE, please write to your state Senators and Congressmen of how unfair the current $8000 giveaway is for 2009 first time homebuyers! The $7500 credit was pushed by the government to stimulate the housing market…..and now the ones who procrastinated get mightily rewarded and the ones who bought in 2008 get completely shafted. Write now!!

By: Andy

Andy — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 19:01:10 +0000

I think the credit/loan is a horrible attempt by the government to fix the problem. Its a band aid for a wound that needs stitches. That being said as a recent home buyer I took the credit, because its there and I might as well use it. I took the entire $7500 and used it all as a principle payment against my mortgage. Since my mortgage is at 6.25% I ran some calculations and if I sell my home in 5 years (my mental plan) the governments money will save me $2500 of interest avoidance so to speak. Sure beats what a high yield savings account would give me. Not sure that is how the the government wanted me to use it, but since I dont need the money at all and already have an emergency fund and investments, I figured it was the safest and most prudent thing to do with the money. And since the money is “buried in my mortgage” it also acts as an insurance policy in case my home sells for less than I bought it for. I encourage anybody else in my situation to look at doing this.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 01:00:09 +0000

My biggest question/concern is how taking this tax credit will affect my credit score and ability to get future loans within the 15 year period.

This doesn’t seem to be answered anywhere.

Thanks!

By: Lee

Lee — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:51:13 +0000

Will this $7,500 be taxable as part of our federal tax refund on our CA state return? I’ve not found any info addressing this issue; as a loan it should not be taxable.

By: Kara

Kara — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:53:22 +0000

I purchased my home in Oct of 2008 and I am in the process of drafting a letter to our Congressman. It seem ridiculous that those of use who purchased a home in that 8 month period have to pay it back. All this does is sends a message that if you hold off and wait a better benefit will be implemented…and isn’t instilling a sense of hesistation in consumers that worst thing to do at this time. All benefits should be retroactive, so that people don’t feel like sitting back and waiting will yield better benefits…we want people to go out and spend now, then you should not make them afraid of doing so.
PLEASE WRITE TO YOUR REP!!!

By: Kara

Kara — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:51:32 +0000

I purchased my home in Oct of 2008 and I am in the process of drafting a letter to our Congressman. It seem ridiculous that those of use who purchased a home in that 8 month period have to pay it back. The original home buyers credit was issued for the same purpose of stimulating the housing market; why should those of us who participated in this in 2008 have to be subject to different conditions of repayment? All this does is sends a message that if you hold off and wait a better benefit will be implemented…and isn’t instilling a sense of hesistation in consumers that worst thing to do at this time. All benefits should be retroactive, so that people don’t end up feeling cheated as we do and don’t encourage others to wait…it will only make things worse. I hate the fact that 10 years from now, those of us in this eight month window will still be paying off this loan, while other who waited just a few months get better benefit free and clear. PLEASE WRITE TO YOUR REP!!!

By: Greg

Greg — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 06:58:34 +0000

I too am frustrated with the decision to not relieve those who bought in 08 of paying back the “credit”. I debated taking the $$ but in the end did it and will stick it away for safe keeping. If you plan on purchasing a flat screen and new entertainment center you will likely find yourself in the same hole I’ll bet you are already in. If you invest this money, even in a basic savings account, you will make a tiny bit of money and have some money to spend if you find yourself in a true crisis or emergency.

By: Neil G

Neil G — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:42:42 +0000

i bought my house in Sep, but i don’t leave in there yer because it needs fix, do i still get the refund? event if i’m not staying in there yet?

By: E

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:08:00 +0000

I qualify for the $7500 as I bought in April ‘08. At first I was inclined to take it as $500 per year for 15 years is a very easy payment for us to make, however after reading further and realizing that it must be paid back in full if the house is sold inside of the 15 year window I was leary. To me it still seems like a good deal as you get $7500 to spend or invest, etc but what if we sell in 5 years and have 10k equity in our home, then we see that equity sliced by the amount owed back to the government. Am I correct in this assessment?

By: Herman

Herman — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:11:06 +0000

I am looking at buying a home between now and July. If I admend my taxes will I get the 7500 or do I have to wait and get the 8000 next year……

By: Ian

Ian — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 21:36:01 +0000

From what I have read, the 08 buyers have to repay the 09 buyers do not. I bought in 08 and I am kinda frustrated but hey it it still a $7500 dollar interest free loan, who is ever going to offer an interest free loan? Take it!!!

By: Booch

Booch — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 21:34:01 +0000

If you bought before January 1st 2009 it looks like it still has to be paid back.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 21:19:30 +0000

I’m confused. With the bill that was passed today, does the $7500 tax credit from 2008 first time home buyers need to be paid back? I’ve read a lot where congress was going to change the terms of the initial credit to where it didn’t require payback. Thanks.

By: Tracy

Tracy — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 17:57:18 +0000

To Liz B:

How will you receive the credit? I thought it was on or after April 8, 2008. I am just curious…

Thanks

By: Liz B

Liz B — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 04:36:56 +0000

I purchased April 4, 2008 and was told I would receive the credit. Thank’s for the great posts and information, although I would have preferred to have found out I was eligible…

By: Officerofthelaw

Officerofthelaw — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 18:26:43 +0000

I thought that as well. I have heard great things about turbotax so I will probably use that software. I do know this…I WILL NEVER use H&R Block in the area I live in.

Thanks Booch for the information, I will be sure to wait until Tuesday.

By: Booch

Booch — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 16:26:46 +0000

You can claim it this year. I filed on H and R Block’s online system and they have the appropriate place to claim it for 2008. But I would wait until after Obama signs the bill on Tuesday so you can claim the $8000 tax credit. That way you will not have to file an amended return.

By: Officerofthelaw

Officerofthelaw — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 16:12:21 +0000

I am now terribly confused. I just closed on my home 2/11/2009. I went to H&R Block and was told that I could not receive my first time home owner tax credit until 2010…is that correct? I was under the impression it could be claimed on our 2008 return and collected this year.

Any clarification on this issue would be greatly appreciated.

I don’t want to hear how fair or unfair this credit may be, strictly the facts.

Thanks

By: Kevin

Kevin — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:02:36 +0000

I don’t know why anyone would complain about getting $7500 on an interest free loan for 15 YEARS. I hope they keep it this way, I don’t like the idea of a “tax credit” that doesn’t have to be paid back. Why does everyone want something for free?? Getting an interest free loan for 15 years is a great deal for anyone. I think the only homebuyers that should actaully get a true “tax credit” should be people who make very little money (maybe use RD income limits)

By: Doc Rock

Doc Rock — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 04:07:37 +0000

It is being reported by AP tonight that the $15,000 tax credit has been stripped from the reconciliation bill.

“Working to accommodate the new, lower overall limit of the bill, negotiators effectively wiped out a Senate-passed provision for a new $15,000 tax credit to defray the cost of buying a home, these officials said.”

All this angst, apparently all for naught.

Figures.

http://apnews.excite.com/artic.....OUJO0.html

By: Ben

Ben — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 20:25:12 +0000

yup, line 69. I thought I read that you can only use the regular 1040 form and cannot attach the Schedule A for the deductions, but I have not seen it anywhere since.

I definately want to itemize this year, as it is my first year of mortgage interest and I think I can claim my closing costs as well.

Thanks,
Ben

By: Tricia

Tricia — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 20:23:25 +0000

There is a line (sorry, don’t have the form in front of me to tell you specifically) on the 1040 to write in your form 5405 credit. Don’t see how itemizing could change that…. although I could be wrong. I was going to do the same thing though, but I’m holding out for the new credit (if they ever work it out). I closed on Jan.30, 2009, so I’m hoping that I’ll fall within the new credit dates, which I have yet to see any info on.

By: Ben

Ben — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 20:11:37 +0000

All of this info has been great. I closed on April 30, 2008, so I will be claiming the $7,500 refundable tax credit when I do my taxes.

One question I do have and I thought I saw it somewhere once that I could not itemize my deductions and still claim the credit. Does anyone know that when I claim the credit using the 1040 (attaching schedule A) and 5405 forms, am I able to itemize my deductions and claim the $7,500 credit?

Thanks in advance.

By: Tracy

Tracy — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 13:52:07 +0000

Does anyone know if the date will be retroative to before April 9, 2008? I noticed there was something posted about February 28, 2008. Thanks for any insight that could be rendered.

By: nickel

nickel — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 01:15:29 +0000

Dean: Actually, it is complicated enough to take up the space that I gave it. There are income limits, effective dates, the possibility of this being converted to a true credit, and even the possibility of this measure being replace altogether by a larger credit under the new stimulus bill.

By: Dean

Dean — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 00:54:21 +0000

this isnt complicated enough to fill up one page. you get to add 7500 to your refund. you pay in back in 15 equal payments–deducting 500 from your refund for the next 15 years–interest free–next question?

By: Tricia

Tricia — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 13:30:53 +0000

But what are the eligibility dates for the new tax credit? And is this new $15,000 credit another “have to pay it back” arrangement or is it truly a real tax credit?