Alex is getting married next month and he has a question about the first-time homebuyer credit.

“Any help would be greatly appreciated. Time is really of the essence here,” he writes in an email.

 The situation: Alex and his fiancee are getting married Sept. 13 and have entered into a contract on a property. The two can’t get approved for a mortgage together, he says, but he can get approved as an individual. He earns $100,000 a year; she earns $50,000.

His two questions:

1) If we get married, and then I purchase the property in my name only, and then we file jointly, will we get the $8k tax credit?

2) Would this result change if I purchased the property under my name only, and then we got married on 9/13/09, and then we file jointly, will we get the $8k tax credit? In both scenarios the title and deed will only be under my name.

I called Jim Dupree of the IRS to see if he can give the lovebirds some good news — before the wedding. And he did.

Dupree writes: “You may qualify for the credit if you (and your spouse, if married) have not owned a home in the three years prior to the purchase. The maximum credit of$8,000 is available for either a qualified single taxpayer or married couple filing a joint return, but only half of that amount for married persons filing separate returns.

“Bear in mind the credit is reduced or eliminated for higher-income taxpayers. The credit is phased out based on your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI). For a married couple filing a joint return, the phase-out range is $150,000 to $170,000.”

So, Alex, if neither you nor your fiancee has owned a house in recent years, it looks like you could qualify.

And congrats on the wedding!

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.