If you're a first-time home buyer who bought a home after April 8, 2008, and before July 1, 2009, you may qualify for a credit of 10% of the purchase price up to $7,500 on your 2008 tax return. Even if you bought the home in 2009, you can take the credit on your 2008 return.
But here's the rub: The credit is more like a loan and must be repaid over 15 years. The stimulus bill being signed now may eliminate the repayment rule for homes bought in 2009, but what's not clear yet is -- if the new stimulus plan eliminates the repayment rule -- will people who bought a home in 2009 but claimed the credit on their 2008 return be exempt from repaying the credit? (Those who take the credit on homes bought in 2008 will have to repay the credit, under current law.)
If you bought a home in 2009 (before the July 1 deadline), your best bet is to wait until the final bill becomes law to see whether to claim the credit on your 2008 return or to wait and claim it next year.
I just read that homeowners who take the standard deduction, but pay property taxes, can now deduct these in addition to the standard deduction...great for seniors who don't itemize. There are no home energy tax credits in 2008, but watch for them in 2009, as well as increased ones for solar energy on your federal return.
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