How to Get Obama's First Time Home Buyers Stimulus Package Tax Credit

You may have heard about Obama's First Time Home Buyers Stimulus Package Tax Credit. If you thought you missed the deadline of December 1, 2009, you'll be happy to hear that the deadline has been extended! You can now get this 10% or $8000 assistance if you purchase and close on a home before April 30, 2010.

How do you take advantage of this program? Where do you apply? What information do you need to get together? What would you think if I told you that you don't need to apply anywhere?

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Appropriate paperwork

1. You need to make a home purchase in accordance with the program guidelines. The house has to be a primary residence, and it cannot exceed $800,000 in price. If you have not owned a home in three years, you will qualify or 10% or a maximum of $8000 tax credit. Your income has to be under $125,000 for a single, or $225,000 or a married couple filing jointly.
   
   There are some exceptions to this; if your income exceeds this by $20,000, you may qualify for a reduced amount of tax credit. Also, if you have lived in your own home for five consecutive years of the last eight, you could qualify for a maximum of $6,500 tax credit.

2. If your home sale closes before April 30, 2010, you can claim this on your tax return as a tax credit. The great thing about this is that it is a refundable tax credit. You don't have to owe that much in taxes to claim it. The remainder is refunded to you.

3. No forms and no applications are necessary. Just be sure you have acted according to the guidelines in selecting and completing the purchase of the home.