Waiting for the homebuyer credit
Linn wrote earlier this month, "This is a FYI to the people wondering about the IRS' time line. I bought a house in June of 2009 and the IRS received all of my paperwork for the credit on July 6th. It is now Jan. 6th and I still don't have my $8k. The IRS took 6 months to mail me a letter stating they wanted more information to prove I live at my new house. I understand the IRS wanting to prove that people are first time homeowners but having to wait 6 months to get a letter is a little frustrating. And yes, I did call the IRS almost every week to check on its status. At least I'm not depending on the money, although it would be nice to have it. I feel bad for anyone that is depending on it and they have to wait forever."
Michael said he's in the same situation, except he filed even earlier -- the end of May.
Linn posted an update last week to say that the IRS confirmed it received the extra documents but expects it will take 60 to 90 days to decide whether to approve the claim, deny it or ... ask for more documents. Linn wonders, in a sort of tongue-in-cheek way, whether to apply for the credit again on the 2009 tax forms and see what happens. (I'm guessing the IRS won't get the joke, what with all the non-tongue-in-cheek fraud it's had on the first-time buyer tax credit.)
So: How long can you expect to wait if you are applying for the credit on your '09 taxes? Eileen Ambrose notes on the Sun's Consuming Interests blog that the IRS is saying the earliest you can expect it -- if you file toot sweet -- is the end of March. She also has details on what documents the IRS is requiring.
Categories: First-time buyer tax credit, Repeat buyer tax credit
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Comments
I had the opposite experience. I did the filing on Turbotax.com and received the refund check in about 4 weeks. No problems whatsoever.
Posted by: Derek | January 22, 2010 8:49 AM
That's interesting, Derek. When did you file?
Posted by: Jamie Smith Hopkins | January 22, 2010 8:53 AM
We filed for the credit at the end of July and got the check in mid-October. They sent us a letter in August asking for more paperwork (HUD statement) and it took about 6-8 weeks from the time we got all the paperwork in for the check to come. Interestingly, the check included an additional $100+ of interest.
Posted by: Andy | January 22, 2010 8:57 AM
I bought in June, filed in November (amending my '08 taxes) and received the credit last week. When I filed, news said that they were taking 10-12 weeks to process paperwork and that was about right. My check also included interest!
Posted by: Julie | January 22, 2010 9:22 AM
Mine was also about a 12-week turnaround. I filed the paperwork days after closing last June. I also received the interest, but you shouldn't be surprised that you got it. You probably filed to amend last year's return, which means that you were filing for money that was due to you from the government, and because it was due for last year's return, received the interest that was also due.
Posted by: Pete | January 22, 2010 10:00 AM
Jamie, we closed on June 30th (foreclosure, bank gave us a great incentive to close early to get the house off their books for the last day of the quarter). I filed Oct 13th (+/- a day or two) and got the check in about 4 weeks I think.
Posted by: Derek | January 23, 2010 11:37 PM