Florida Home Buyer Tax Credit Extension makes it through Congress

Florida Home Buyer Tax Credit Extension makes it through Congress

 

November 1, 2009

For Florida homebuyers this is great news! Congress both extended and expanded the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit program Thursday for Florida homebuyers.

The White House says the President will sign it into law.

The up-to-00 tax credit’s expiration date has been pushed forward to spring, requiring Florida homebuyers to be under contract before April 30, 2010, to take advantage and to be closed by June 30, 2010.

The program’s basic eligibility requirements remain the same:

Florida Buyers can’t purchase the home from a parent, spouse, or child Florida Buyers can’t purchase the home from an entity in which they’re a majority owner Florida Buyers can’t acquire the home by gift or inheritance All parties to the Florida purchase must meet eligibility requirements

The new law includes some notable updates, however.

For one, the definition of  Florida “first-time home buyer” has been expanded to include most homeowners with at least 5 years in their current Florida home. “Move-up” buyers like these are now eligible for IRS tax credits, but with a cap gain at ,500.

This means that you don’t have to be a true Florida first-time home buyer to claim the “Florida first-time home buyer tax credit”.

Other eligibility changes include:

The Florida homes sales price may not exceed 0,000 The Florida home must be a primary residence Income thresholds raised to 5,000 for single-filers and 5,500 for joint-filer

And remember, the Florida First-Time Home Buyer program grants a tax credit as opposed to a deduction. This means that a tax filer would receive a cash payment of ,000 from the U.S. Treasury if his “normal” tax liability totals ,000 and he was eligible for all ,000 available under the new tax credit law.

First Time Home Buyer Programs