U.S. House Extends Home Buyer Tax Credit

Homebuyers would get an extra three months to finish their purchases and qualify for a tax credit under a bill passed by the House recently.Homebuyers who signed purchase agreements by Friday, April 30 have until Wednesday, June 30 to close on the sale to qualify for tax credits of up to $8,000, under current law. The bill would allow buyers until Thursday, September 30 to finish their purchases.The extended deadline only applies to those who signed purchase agreements by Friday, April 30. The National Association of Realtors estimates that an estimated 180,000 homebuyers who already signed purchase agreements are likely to not make the Wednesday deadline.As the bill passed 409-5, it now goes to the Senate, where senators were recently working on a bill that would extend the tax credit and extend unemployment benefits for workers who have been laid off for long amounts of time.As early as this week, the Senate could vote on its bill if senators can get 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.The popular tax credit has helped to stabilize the U.S.’s housing market. Almost 3 million taxpayers claimed the tax credit through Saturday, May 22, claiming over $21 billion, according to the Treasury Department.The Realtors adds that the tax credit has had 1 million new home sales that wouldn’t have happened otherwise.Also, the bill would make it easier for the Internal Revenue Service and state prison officials to share information about inmates in an effort to fight fraud. Recently, the Treasury Department’s inspector general for tax administration reported that almost 1,300 prison inmates had improperly received over $9 million in homebuyer tax credits while they were locked up.For first-time homebuyers, the tax credit was part of President Barack Obama’s economic recovery package enacted last year. Congress extended the credit and expanded it to longtime owners who bought new homes in November. For buyers of so-called short sales, there have been particularly long delays, ones in which banks agree to accept less than the total mortgage amount. Source: builderonline.com