Home Buyer Tax Credit Extended
Smyrna Vinings home buyers, you may yet get that homebuyer tax credit after all. This week, the Senate passed a bill to extend the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit until September 30th. It now goes to President Obama, who is expected to sign the bill. The bill was overwhelmingly approved by the House on Tuesday. The deadline had been June 30th to close on the property.
After a close brush with the deadline, Congress passed an extension of the Homebuyer Tax Credit closing deadline, the Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act (H.R. 5623). The extension applies only to transactions that have ratified contracts in place as of April 30, 2010 that have not yet closed. The legislation is designed to create a seamless extension and the new closing deadline for eligible transactions is now September 30, 2010. There will be no gap between June 30th and the date the President signs the bill into law.
Before you get too excited, the bill doesn’t help anyone currently shopping for a home. Buyers must have signed a contract by April 30th to qualify for the tax break. At issue is when the deal must be finalized.
Repeat home buyers also have until September 30th to close on new homes and receive a tax credit of up to $6,500.
Congress has been trying to pass the extension for the last month, but it got caught up in the usual Washington politics. The extension is estimated to raise the deficit by $9 million.
An estimated 200,000 people have missed out on the tax credit because they wouldn’t have been able to close by the end of business Wednesday. Many are trying to take advantage of short sales, which are complicated deals to complete.
Contact us for all of your Smyrna Vinings real estate needs. We are local market experts and continue to find great deals for our clients.