Give a hand to Jackson Hewitt’s Mark Steber, vice president of tax resources, for answering this round of questions:

Q. I qualify for the 2008 tax credit, which you must pay back. If I sell my house before the 15 years are up but I do not make a profit on the sale, do I still owe the balance of the loan?

A. If you sell your house to someone not related, you must repay the lesser of the credit recapture remaining or the gain on the sale of the house. For example, you bought your house for $75,000 in 2008 and sold your house for a $7,000 gain 2009. The credit recapture, the amount you will pay back, is limited to $7,000 ($7,500 credit minus the $500 profit).

Q. My parents took out a line of credit against their home in 2006 to purchase a condo. The condo is paid off and the mortgage is against their house. Two years later they added me to title, but I was not originally on the loan or the purchase. Now I am getting ready to buy a home. Am I still considered a first time home buyer since I have never even applied for a loan?

A. You do not qualify for the first-time homebuyer’s credit because you owned a home within the three years prior to purchasing a home.

Q. I have a question. My income was $90,000 in 2008. My boyfriend's income was $60,000 in 2008. We are buying a single-family home for over $100,000 together in April 2009. Is there some way we can do it where we can each claim half of the income tax credit ($4,000)? Neither one of us has ever bought a home. I'm wondering what our options are for getting the tax credit.

Here is what I have thought of. 1) My boyfriend gets the entire $8,000 tax credit. However, that feels unfair to me!

2) What if I put $15,000 or so into my 457 DCF plan in 2009 to reduce my taxable income down to $75,000? Then would I qualify for half of the income tax credit on my 2009 tax return?

A. You are correct. The credit can be split anyway you wish. The $75,000 phase-out is applied to each taxpayer so your boyfriend is eligible for the entire credit amount allowed him and you are in the phase-out range for the credit amount allowed you. If you put the max contribution into your retirement account and your income is no more than $90,000, you would not have to reduce the eligible credit under the phase-out rules.

Q. I own the home my boyfriend and I have lived in since 2005. I want to sell this home to both he and I as we love this home. He is a first time homebuyer. Would this qualify for the $8,000 tax credit?

A. As long as you sell the house and he is the purchaser or co-purchaser, he would qualify. If you just add him to the loan or the title, he does not qualify for a purchase.

Q. I bought a house in 2006 and got married in 2007. My husband lived there for 1 1/2 years, but I never added him to the house. In November, 2008, we sold that house a bought a new one. Would he qualify as a first time home buyer if we file together? What if we file separately?

A. Married taxpayers must both be eligible first-time homebuyers to qualify for the credit regardless of filing status.

Q. My father and my husband are buying a home together. My husband has never owned a home but my father has. Can my husband still claim the credit or not? (Not sure if this makes a difference, but my father will be living in the new home.)

A. If you currently own the home you and your husband live in, your husband would not qualify for the credit since married taxpayers must both qualify for the credit to claim the credit. However, your husband could qualify for the credit if all of the following conditions are met:

• You do not own a home, and

• Your husband and father purchase a home together, and

• Your husband is living in the home as his principle residence

UPDATE: Got more questions about the $8,000 first-time homebuyer credit? E-mail them to Eileen.ambrose@baltsun.com before Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009, and then tune in at noon on Sept. 8 for her live chat with IRS spokesman Jim Dupree to get the answers.