The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Act (HR.3548) provides a continuation of the up-to-$8,000 first-time tax credit through April 30, 2010 and creates a new $6,500 tax credit for existing homeowners buying a different house for use as their primary residence.
The refundable $8,000 credit will apply to all contracts entered into before May 1, 2010, and closed before July 1. It also creates a new $6,500 credit for property owners who have lived in their home for at least five consecutive years of the past eight years. Income limits for eligible home buyers are expanded to $125,000 for single buyers and $225,000 for couples, from $75,000 and $150,000, respectively. No credit is allowed for the purchase of any residence with a price exceeding $800,000. This ceiling operates as a cliff, not as the onset of a phase-out range, and does not adjust for localities. To help guard against fraud, buyers are required to attach documentation of purchase to their tax return.
