My wife and I separated in December and will be divorced in July 2009. We lived in her home for 20+ years and she is selling it now. I want to buy a condo for $85,000 (2br, 1-1/2 bath!) in August.

Since I have not owned a home during this period do I qualify for the First-Time Homebuyer Credit? May I refile the joint 2008 tax return or claim the credit on the 2009 return. The AGI limit for single may impact the 2009 return and credit amount.

During our marriage the mortgages were paid from a joint checking account.

It's not clear to me. You never owned a house, or did you own the house with your wife? - ema

if i was divorced in 2007 and never had my name on the mortgage and have not lived there for 2 1/2 years do I qualify as a first time home owner? i owned the land and he owned the mobile home bought in 2003 then he let the mortgage company repo it last month and i'm moving back and would like to buy a home to put on my property.

Let me check with the IRS. Look at the blog later this week for your answer - eileen

My husband purchased a house in 2004 prior to our marriage. He added me to the title only in 2005. I was not responsible for mortgage payments. We were divorced July of this year & I signed the title over to him. Am I eligible?

I believe the IRS has addressed this a few times. Check the taxes section of the blog - ema

I have just recently gotten divorced and am looking at trying to buy a home on my own. My husband and I owned the home together, although he was the only source of income for our family.

Am I eligable for the first time home buyer assistance, since I have never bought a house "on my own"?
thank

You won't be eligible for the $8,000 credit because you and your spouse could not have owned a house in the past three years, and it appears that together you did. - eileen

My husband and I divorced in 2001 after 27 years. In the divorce I received the house, and it has been in my name only since that time. in 2005 I remarried but never added new husband to deed. He hasn't owned a home since 2004. I sold my home and we recently purchased a home together. Do either of us qualify for the 2009 tax credit?

It doesn't look good. As we posted on the blog, this is what the IRS says:

Section 36(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code requires that the taxpayer and the taxpayer’s spouse not have an ownership interest in a principal residence within the three years prior to the date of purchase. While individuals do not have to be married to get the credit, marriage (and legal separation) imputes ownership of a previous home upon the other spouse. You cannot take the credit even if you filed on a separate return.

My boyfriend bought a house with a friend 4 years ago. In October 2009, he will be taking his friend off the mortgage and the title and refinancing this house with me on the mortgage and title. I have never owned a house before. Do I still qualify for the credit?

I don't think so, but I'll check with the IRS. The house is already purchased, and you are just putting your name on a refinanced mortgage. The credit is for the purchase of a house, not refinancings. But I'll ask for you. - ema

Question: I am married. We live in a house that my wife purchased BEFORE we were married and my name is NOT on the mortgage. If we get divorced and I purchase a new house, can I still use the tax credit?

Are the two of you divorcing anyway or are you asking can you get the credit by divorcing? - ema

My (former) husband and I purchased our residence in 2003. We separated in 2006, divorced in 2007, and had the house on the market until it sold in June of 2007. I had to live in the house and pay all the mortgage payments until it sold because he never contributed any money after we separated. After renting for two years (and two moves, due to first landlord suffering a foreclosure!) I have finally scraped together a down payment for my own house - is there ANY way for me to qualify for a homebuyer credit? Is there any provision for "unforseen circumstances" such as a divorce?

Sorry. You can't have owned a house in the past three years, and that's not the situation in your case. - eileen

Sorry if this seems redundant but I haven't seen this question posed exactly the same as my situation. I am going through a divorce, I have never owned a home. My husband already owned a home before we were married and my name has never been on the mortgage or the deed ever. We are legally seperated and the divorce is pending, am I eligible for the tax credit on my first home purchase?

I seperated in 09/06, moved out lived in rented property, divorced in 10/07. May I consider it 3 years since I have lived in or owned a home or is 3 years from the actual dvorce that removed my name from the deed ( which it did)

I'll run you question by the IRS to double check. Check back on the blog later for your answer - ema.

Seems off, that if you purchased the home in 2009 it is a permanent credit (so long as you stay 36 months)vs 2008 with a 15 yr payback. The way I understand that is 7500/15 or 500 additional tax due each of the next 15 years, What if you loose everything and you do not even make 500 ?? I understand they forgive it if you die but, will they garnish your social security assuming you live long enough to reclaim their credit if you cannot repay it over the next 15 years due to no income???

Seems to be extremely stringent, kinda like when they created the child credit for children under 17 the year my daughter turned 17. Amazing her father quit paying the minor amount of support that he was paying (at least for part of the time)the day she turned 18 even though that was 8 months before she graduated from high school and when I did get support payments they did not cover the cost of my daughters health insurance yet I did did not qualify for the credit as my child was too old.

All right yopu got me started, I had been her sole support since age 7. Well at age 26 she was finally done with school. Thank God I was not waiting on a tax credit .
Now after getting her out of law school and married at age 27, I buy a house in Feb 2008 for the first time since losing my a#$ in 1985 in the last great real estate depression. I have not had ownership of a home since 1989 due to "scared to death " and the fact that my deed in lieu of foreclosure screwed up my credit for the next nine years. FYI, I paid every dime due on that original mortgage. Unfornately I had "first time home buyers guaranteed bond money" backing up my originally in (1985) below market mortgage rate of only 12%, and they would not refinance after my divorce when rates dropped to 7% in 1989 because I could not "qualify to pay less" on my sole income as single Mom with at that point 100% of the finacial responsibility of my daughter. So they forced me to continue to pay the full amount of the the riduculous mortgage( because they had nothing to lose, if I did not pay the US govt would so they were not such dumb business men) until I threw up my hands and walked away. Great gesture, I paid for it plus. I guess my point is that the government has never done anything favorable for me when it comes to home ownership. So I guess I am lucky that they are not doing anything for me now so I cannot be disappointed in their program. Although it does floor me that the rich and famous are walking away from their mortgages for their second & third homes or yachts etc and are even being given non taxable treatment of their debt forgiveness.
I, who at the time was a 27 (1989) year old single Mom with a seven year old did not get any relief from the government on the mortgage or the tax liability. I could not even write off my 47,000 loss on the home I had to pay.
That would be $47K CASH. More than I had had ever made in a year at that point in my life. At least if they had allowed a capital loss I could have used it by now at $3K a year.

For those of you who are eliglible, BEWARE, there may be a downside that you are not currently considering. If not, consider yourself one of the lucky ones!! :) I have no resentments! :)

My wife was given partial ownership of a home of which her mother currently lives in along with my wife and I. My wife's share of the home on title is less than 30%, and we did not know until recently that her mother had distributed the title of the home amongst the children. We are looking at moving out and buying a new home in the next month. Anyway we can qualify? I heard there was a rule that if ownership interest is less than a certain percentage there was a chance.

Hmmm. I haven't heard about an ownership percentage clause on the credit, but I'll run your question by the IRS and see what they. Check back later on the blog for the answer - eileen

I was married 5 years ago my husband refinanced and added my name to the house deed. Does this make it half my house?

We try to help people with their tax questions on the first-time homebuyer credit - not give legal advice. Your best bet is to look at the documents and talk to your husband. - ema

Hello,
I believe I already know the answer to this question based on what I have read on this site. My ex-wife purchased a house 2 years before we were married. We lived as a married couple for 10 years until early this year when we were divorced. I did receive equity from her because she wanted to keep the house. This was because I had vested interest in the home even though I was not the original purchaser. I would assume that I am not eligible for the credit because I do not fall within the 3 year period. Please confirm my assumption.

Thanks for your time and advise.

I'll forward this to the IRS, but I think your inkling may be right. - ema

We were married in 2005, he had already had the house for 20 years, separated in 2008, legal separation in 2009 and I am now purchasing a home. Am I eligible for the tax credit?

Check back on the blog. I'll foward your question to the IRS. - ema

If a person was not on the title, deed or mortgage of a home he or she occupied with their spouse within the last three years and filed joint tax returns and are now divorced.
Does the spouse that was not on title, deed or mortgage qualify for the tax credit?

Check back on the blog later for the answer. I'll forward your question to the IRS. - eileen

I separated from my husband earlier this year but we filed taxes jointly as a married couple in 2008. I wish to buy a condo/finance the mortgage in my name only but apply the tax credit to our jointly-filed 2008 taxes. Is this possible? My income is too high to qualify for the tax credit as an individual.

Check back on the blog later. I will forward your question to the IRS. - eileen

My daughter and her husband purchased a house for the first time for both in 2009. They are now separated. Can she file "Married Filing Separately" and claim half the tax credit on her taxes?

I believe so, but I'll run it by the IRS. Check back on the blog later. - ema

My husband and I brought a house about 9 years ago, but didn't purchase a mortgage. The house was small so we get a small loan and purchased it. We are thinking about building a house. Would we gualify for first time home owner?

I don't think so. The tax break doesn't care how you paid for the house, but whether you owned one. I will run this by the IRS along with some other questions, but I wouldn't run out buying a second house just yet. - eileen

I got divorced in Oct 2007 and signed over a quit claim deed taking my name off the marital home. I lived in the marital home until Oct 2007. I have never bought a home by myself. Do I qualify for the tax credit, or for ANY kind of credit if I buy a house this year? I seem to be missing all the stimulus opportunities.

If you signed a quit claim deed, you owned a home. Isn't that right? You can't have owned a home in the past three years to get the credit.

I was currently married for a number of years in the state of pa. I filed for divorce back in 2004 and we still have not complted it. During that time, my spouse had moved out from where we were living and we sold the house. I had purchased another home just in my name alone. I'm now trying to refinance the property to lower my payment and add my escrow. The mortgage company is saying i need to show them the divorce decree, but the divorce is not final. Why would they need to see that? My spouse was not on the mortgage. loan, deed, or has anything to do with the property. What can i show them that they will except in place of the decree. Or is there some type of law against that or is it even legal for them to do that ? I could understand if she was on the home or mortgage with me. Or even if she was living there as her marital residence. But that is not the case. Please help, anyone.. thanks

I'm just guessing here, but the mortgage company probably wants to see the decree because it may show if you two worked out an agreement on who assumes the mortgage debt or that your wife is cleared of any responsibility. You need to work with your mortgage company and ask what sort of documentation it can accept. And if you don't understand why they are asking for the information, again, you should be talking to the company. - ema

I married my husband in 2006 and live in Florida. We live in a home he purchased with his ex-wife which still has his ex-wife's name and "et al" (he says he's the "et al") on the title. She has not lived in the home or paid taxes on it since 1994 (they bought it in 1980). He has been paying the taxes and making major improvements on the property since she moved out. In the last three years, I have also contributed a good amount of money and time in improving this house. My husband's will states he leaves the house to me but, obviously, that's not what will happen. But what are my rights as far as being able to live in the house and regarding my investment in the house if my husband dies before me?

Sorry, this blog is answering questions on the first-time homebuyer credit. You need to take your question to an estate planning lawyer in Florida. Each state has its own estate laws, and we're here in Maryland. Don't know the law in Florida. Good luck. -ema

My case sounds very similiar to many others regarding being married and my name added to the deed. The purchase date was 11/6/06, and we no longer are together nor do we own the home any longer. I had my name removed last year and now I'm set to close on my own home. Would it be in my favor to wait 3 years to the day before I close to be eligible for the tax credit. I'm set to close 11/7/09.
Thanks

You owned a house a year ago. You cannot have had an ownership interest in a house in the past three year. - ema

My ex and I built a house in 1998. We seperated and he remained in the house in 06/2006. I and the children lived in my parents house until 06/2009. I actually purchased the house with a loan in my name only in 03/2009. The kids and I did not move back into the house and use it as our primary residence until June 2009. Do I qualify for the tax credit?

Shannan, I think we will have to start referring people to the IRS directly at 800-829-1040. We've been sending the IRS questions, but we still have a questions pending that haven't been answered yet. Good luck, ema

I got a divorce about 3 to 4 years ago. I gave him the house in the divorce but he never got it refinanced in his name. I calledc the mortgage compnay and they said I am still liable. He died today and now this will be tied up in his estate. Will I still be liable or can I go take control of the house. I don't want this to go bad on my credit. Do I need a lawyer if this house is in now my posession even though it stated in the divorce papers to be his?

Sorry, you really need to contact the lawyer for the estate on these questions or your own lawyer. Good luck, ema

I'm a realtor and I'm not sure how to advise my client. She has been divorced for 2 years. At the time of the divorce, she kept the house and took title and a new mortgage in her name alone. She had title and mortgage with the ex for 4 years before the divorce. Does her situation qualify her as a homeowner that has owned this home for 6 full years and can therefore take the $6,500 credit if she sells and buys something else? (assuming she meets all the other guidelines) I'm thinking yes, but want a second opinion. Thanks!

Check back on Tuesday. We are running some Q&As on the extended credit then. - eileen

My ex-husband and I sold our home in March of 2007. We were legalley separated in Jan 2008 and our divorce was finalized in June 2009. I am now purchasing a home which should close escrow Dec 1st. So it has only been 2 years and 9 months since we sold our home. Is there any exception to the 3 year clause in the new legislation for a recent divorce?

Sorry, no. - ema

my husband and i bought a house from his mother in may 2009. i know you don't qualify if you buy from a relative. I've heard there was a loophole where if we filed seperate i could qualify due to the fact that i am not related to her by blood. the new extension put a clause to prevent this from happening. is this true.

I don't think you will qualify because you bought from a parent. I'm curious, where did you hear there was this loophole? I don't believe there was such a loophole, plus the updated legislation doesn't mention this. Although the new law does require verification of housing purchase and prohibits parents from putting a baby's name on the deed to dlaim the credit because of fraud concerns. - ema.

I purchased a home with my wife in 1993. It was paid off in 2000. In March 2009 we seperated and the divorce is final in November. I gave her the home in the divorce proceedings. Filing a quit clain in September. I purchased home which closed on October 30th . Am I eligable for the credit ? I should be !

I don't think so because you had an ownership interest in a house in the past three years. Check the taxes category of this blog. I think it's been answered before by the irs. - ema