Housing Recovery

We’ve all heard the terrible statistics about the housing market.  Foreclosures abound and the resale market keeps slipping.  The government has responded with the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.  The following is a summary taken from the National Council of State Housing Agencies.

First Time Home Buyer Credit

• Establishes a first-time home buyer refundable tax credit equal to 10 percent of the purchase price of a principal residence, not to exceed $7,500.
• Phases out the credit for taxpayers with incomes over $75,000 ($150,000 for joint returns).
• Prevents credit from being allowed to any taxpayer for any taxable year if:

 1. The taxpayer receives the District of Columbia first-time home buyer credit.

2.  The residence is financed by the proceeds of a tax-exempt MRB.

3. The taxpayer is a nonresident alien.

4.  The taxpayer disposes of such residence before the close of the taxable year.

• Allows the credit for purchases on or after April 9, 2008 and before July 1, 2009.
• Requires taxpayers receiving the credit to repay it over 15 years in equal installments by imposing a surcharge on the taxpayers’ annual income tax.

Check with your financial institution to see if you are qualified to take this first time home buyer credit.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 15th, 2008 at 4:44 pm and is filed under Home building, Maine custom homes, Manufactured Homes, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.