I have a couple questions. I got the impression that the purchase date would have to be after Dec, 1st 2009. Is that correct or does it just need to be after Nov th? What will be defind as a purchase date, the date of closing or the date that the contract is accepted? I have a home under contract since about Oct 25th so the contract date is before, will I still be eligable and when do we need to wait to close?
Thanks.

The IRS says Nov. 7, and the IRS is probably the key authority on this one. (The legislation itself said the provisions "shall apply to residences purchased after the date of the enactment of this Act," and it was signed into law Friday.)

The IRS defined "purchase" for the earlier first-time buyer tax credit as "date of closing." So I'm guessing that people who signed a contract before Nov. 7 but are closing on or afterward will be eligible. But we'll have to wait and see what the IRS says.

so im in my house for 19 years and intend to stay, am i entitled to a tax credit in 2009 or 2010.....thank you....

Maureen, if you're not buying a new place, you're not eligible. That's the point of the credit -- to get people to buy.

I have question: Do I have to live in the same place for exactly 5 year to qualify for the repeat-buyer tax credit? For example, if I bought my current house Dec 27th, 2004, do I have to sell my house after Dec. 27th 2009, then buy a new house?

Thanks a lot!

We have lived in our home for 10years just sold it July24th move brought a new one July 24th. This should be retro to the beginning of the year this is not fair

So someone who closed on Monday evening Nov. 2 won't qualify!&%^$%#$$@#!!! Talk about luck of the draw.

Angela, I haven't seen your question addressed specifically by folks in the know, but I'm assuming that five years means at least a full five years. Better safe than sorry, anyway.

I bought my house On Jan 2000 and sold it in May of 2009. I am currently renting while my house is being built. I intend to close on the house Dec 2009. Will I qualify even though I lived in my house 8 years and 5 months?

As far as I know, Shay, because the "five years" part is an "at least" situation.

My husband and I have owned a home for 15 years,because of the economy we ended up with a lease option. I needed to buy a home closer to work, we closed Sept. 28, 2009, will we qualify for the new 6500.00 tax credit.

MI, do you mean you closed on the deal to have someone lease your home with an option to buy? Or did you close on your new purchase? If you've already bought your new home, then no, you don't qualify. The start date for eligible purchases was Nov. 7.

I owned a home for 6 years and sold and bought in march of this year. I didnt get the 8,000 tax credit due to I was a previous home owner. Does this mean that I get the new 6,500 tax credit?

Jaimie - My Mom is going through a seperation and she is being bought out the house. Since she has lived there for 5 years, would she qualify for the $6500 tax credit? Also does anyone know if you are able to use the credit at closing?

Ernie, people who bought before this new law went into effect don't qualify. Not surprising -- Congress is trying to encourage new purchases.

JB, is your mother planning to buy another house? Then I believe she would qualify.

do you qualiafy if you refinance

Bob, please tell me you're wondering if someone who refinanced, say, midway through their five-year ownership of a home is still eligible if they now want to buy a new home. (The answer would be yes.) If you're asking whether you qualify for $6,500 just because you're planning to refinance in a month, no. (For Pete's sake.)

Jaime, Can the tax credit be used at closing?

Thanks

JB, I don't know. I haven't seen that addressed yet.

Anyone? Bueller?

I sold a house in June (lived there 8 years) and am about to buy another. I re-married in Aug, can we both be on the loan, or does it just need to be me to get the credit?

Mike, I think this is one of those things that the IRS will have to weigh in on before we know for sure.

But I'm guessing that the IRS will nix the idea of fashioning loan documents in order to get the credit. Either it'll say that only one spouse has to meet the repeat-buyer criteria or that both do, but that it doesn't matter if one or both are on the loan. We'll see if my guess is right.

I have lived in my present home for 30+ years. I am purchasing a new home because I am getting remarried and plan to sell my present home. The closing will be after Nov. 7th. The new home loan will be in my name. Do I qualify for the tax credit?

If I own and lived in my house for ten years. Can I still qualitfy if I buy a new house as my primary residence and rent the old house that I'm vacating

The Amendment was signed into law on the 7th, The Enactment was placed into law on January 1st, and this is just an "AMENDMENT" to the already existing law.

Jewell, it sounds to me like you qualify. (We're still waiting to hear how the IRS will treat home-buying couples with one person who qualifies as a repeat buyer and one person who doesn't.)

Dan, the reports I've seen on the new provisions say you don't have to sell your current home -- you just have to be getting a new primary residence. So renting out the old one is OK.

Good point, Rob. Of course, lots of things Congress passes are amendments to previous laws. :-)

What about new construction. We closed on our construction loan in August, it will convert to a 30yr fixed in the next few months. Which date determines eligibility?

Anonymous, here's what the IRS said earlier this year for the first-time buyer credit: "For a home you construct, the purchase date is considered to be the date you first occupy the home."

I agree that the repeat buyer tax credit should have been made retro-active. We closed on our new house in September, having no idea that a repeat homebuyer credit was even on the table, or that the first time homebuyer credit was going to be extended at all. We had lived in the old house for over 7 years. My husband is not a very happy camper right now.

I bought my house in 1991 and sold it in 2004 to move in with my fiance. She bought her home in 2001. We were married in July of 2005. I bought a new home in March 2009 (my name only), we moved in during July 2009, and she is selling her home in Dec. Will I qualify as a new home buyer?

What if I am a first time homebuyer, and I became for the first time someone with an interest in a home via the home being refinanced?

Chuck, the IRS says a married couple only qualifies for the first-time buyer credit if ~both~ spouses meet the requirements: "you can qualify for the credit if you (and your spouse, if married) have not owned a home in the three years prior to a purchase."

Sue, are you saying you didn't buy the home but your spouse, parent, etc. added you to the loan when refinancing? I haven't heard that one addressed, but I'd be very surprised if the IRS would allow it. The point of the credit is to get people buying to move homes off the market, not to encourage homeowners to add additional people to their mortgages. (Also, if it's your spouse, see my answer to Chuck immediately above.)

Anyone hear differently? Please weigh in.

My husband and I are settling on our new house later this week. He bought a home in 2001 and it was his primary residence until 2008 (more than 5 of last 8 years). On the other hand, I have never owned a home. Do we still qualify?

I'm confused because if not married, I would qualify for the first-time buyers credit and he would qualify for the repeat-buyers credit. It would make NO SENSE for us to not qualify because we got married last year!!!

I have owned a primary residence for over 5 years. Last year I got married, and my wife has never owned a home. We are buying a new place together and settle next week. I know that we don't qualify for the original first-time home buyer credit because of my previous ownership. Does this mean we don't qualify for the repeat-buyer credit either because she hasn't owned a primary residence?

Do I have to have owned the same home for 5 years? Example, we have been home owners for many years, most recently living in our previous home for 4 1/2 years and before that 4 years in another home?

Kait and Joshua, I'm hoping to get some clarification on whether a couple will qualify for the repeat-buyer credit as long as one of them meets the requirements.

Ron, the answer is yes, you do have to have owned the same home for five years. Here's what the law says: "In the case of an individual (and, if married, such individual's spouse) who has owned and used the same residence as such individual's principal residence for any 5-consecutive-year period during the 8-year period ..."

so i does the date have to be exact? for example i bought my house on feb25th 2005, do i have to stay in it till feb25th 2010 to be eligible or is it just the start of the new year, like jan 1st, 2010 for example.

Dave, tax experts are saying five years means five full years, no fudging.

Unbelievable - my wife and I upgraded to a larger home (expecting a child), had to rent our condo due to market conditions, bought a new house 4 weeks ago and have already sunk upgrade dollars into it. We are exactly the type of couple who are helping grow the local economy yet stand to gain absolutely nothing since this is not retro-active. Very glad to see my tax dollars benefit everyone else.

I bought my house in 2000...haven't moved...don't intend to...is this $6500 for "repeat" buyers only? This was my first home...I know I don't qualify for first-time buyer tax credit. I think the way the proposal reads is confusing. I've lived in my atleast 5 years of the last 8...but I'm not a repeat buyer....but I am still a "home buyer"...it's not paid off...=)

Yes, Anita, it is a repeat-buyer tax credit. That means you have to be buying something -- starting Nov. 7 of this year -- to qualify.

I have owned my home for 5yrs 8 mos, but, bought another house, moved to the other house for 6 months, sold it moved back to home that I've owned for 5yrs 8 mos. I have a buyer for the 5yrs 8 mos home. If I buy another home after Dec 1 do I qualify for repeat buyer tax credit?

Kind of poetic "justice"!! My wife and I sold our house that had been our primary residence for the past 8 years this past September (job relocation). We were basically low-balled into losing a good deal of equity by "first-time" buyers that not only were getting the tax credit, but also using FHA financing so they could put only 3% down. And, to top it all off, we had to float them $3500 cash to essentially subsidize their closing costs! SO, they bascially received $11,500 for free. Luckily we decided to build in our new location so it looks like we can get some of our $$ back!! Most likely, the buyers of our old house (and many others) will end up in bankruptcy court in the next couple of years. Then we can give them some more free money so they can make the same mistakes again!

I live in my house for 49 years and my mom past inheartied the house in aug of 2005 and selling 11/20/09 would i quaify for the 6500 tax credit

Karen, my understanding of the law is that the same home has to be your principal residence for five consecutive years of the last eight. You'll want to check with a tax expert to see if a six-month stint elsewhere disqualifies you.

Dom, you need to have lived in AND owned the home for at least five years. So it doesn't sound like you would qualify.

I have owned and lived in the same mobile home for 20+yrs so as far as I can tell don't qualify for the 1st time credit but I do know that it is 10% of the cost of a home up to $80k, what I can't find is how the other credit is calculated.

Everybody just flings around $8k & $6.5k without pointing out that those are the maximums, I'm looking at a house that costs $40k to replace this mobile.

Dan, I usually don't get into the "10 percent of the cost of the home up to $8,000" because most of the homes in the Baltimore metro area sell for far more than $79,000.

I see no reference to "10 percent of the home's cost" in the newly passed legislation, but the Associated Press has reported it this way: "The credit is equal to 10 percent of the purchase price of a primary residence, up to a maximum of $8,000 for first-time homebuyers and $6,500 for others."

My mom and I bought a home in 2002 that me and my husband lived in and paid for. In Feb. 2005 we refinanced to take my moms name off and add my husbands name on the loan. My question is do either one of us qualify? Our current home is in escrow, and so is the home we intend to buy. Should close in mid December.

I've owned & lived in my current home for 10 years. I bought land about five years ago and just completed building my new home on it. I used savings to build the home, not a bank loan. A family member has offered to make me a loan to pay back savings instead of going to the bank. I fall within the income limits of the $6500 tax credit. Being i already owned the land and if i don't get a bank loan can i still get the tax credit? if so, how do i prove to the irs i just built this home to get the tax credit???

Desi, we're still waiting to hear how the IRS will handle the situation of spouses who don't both meet the credit's definition of repeat buyers.

Mark, here's what the IRS said about newly constructed homes in a Q&A for the earlier versions of the tax credit: "For a home you construct, the purchase date is considered to be the date you first occupy the home."

My husband and I have lived in our current home for 3.5 years, but were homeowners for 2 years before that for a total of 5.5 years. We will be relocating out of state for a job in the next few weeks. We do not qualify for the credit because we have not lived in our current home for 5 consecutive years, but have any exceptions been allowed for families/individuals who have relocated for employment reasons?

I owned a home from March '03 to Sept '08, just over 5 years. The last two years my ex-wife lived there while I rented an apartment (while I paid half of the mortgage and expenses, of course). Now I'm looking to buy a home and the IRS rules can be, um, vague...I just hope I don't get boxed out. Any thoughts?

Kim, I've heard nothing about exceptions except for military.

Brian, the provision states that the home must have been your primary residence for at least five years of the last eight, so I'm guessing you wouldn't qualify for the repeat-buyer credit. But this is definitely a question for a tax expert, not a reporter. For instance, you've been out of this property for more than three years now, right? You might then qualify as a first-time home buyer -- I think the key is not having owned a primary residence in the past three years.

I have owned my house for 22 years & am going to start looking for a house to purchase after the 1st of the year. I will be selling the house I currently live in.

Will I qualify for the $6500 tax credit if I purchase a house that is $65,000 or over even if I haven't completed the sell of my current home?

Sylvia, I've seen reports that say you don't have to sell your current home, you only have to be buying a new primary residence. The IRS hasn't weighed in yet, though.

Make sure you sign a contract by April 30 and close by June 30, of course.

This kinda sucks. I closed on my home in nov of 2007 so I wasn't eligible for either the 7500 for 2005-mid 2007 credit nor 8000 credit passed in 08 and extended through 10. Now I'm needing to upgrade (baby and my mother was not expected to be residents in the house at the time) So I still don't qualify for the 8000 credit because I have a home, nor will I receive a credit for buying a new one since I lived here two years and it takes about at most a year to build and close on a house. So there are those in limbo. So those 0 and 5+ buyers get a break, but not the 1-4.

I have owned my place long enough, but my husband and I just got married last year. He is not on the title. Do we both have to have lived there for 5 years to qualify?

Michelle, this is the most popular buyer-credit question from readers, but I just don't know. I asked the IRS and was told it is still working through the details of the legislation.

My husband and I bought our first home in Aug 2006 we had to sell it this year due to employment in another state. We are currently signing a contract to build a new one. Do we qualify for any of this new tax credit?

Sheri, take another look at this post -- repeat buyers don't qualify if they didn't own their previous home for at least five years.

My Wfie has been living in her condo for 6 years +. We were married in June of 2009 and are now looking for a new home which would be purchased jointly. I personally have never been a home owner, but I'm wondering if we would qualify for the $6500 tax credit because my wife qualifies. Or am I too assume that we don't qualify for either because we don't both meet the criteria for a first time home buyer or an existing home buyer? Please advise.

That's the real question,Eric, and we're still waiting for the IRS to weigh in on it.