Bought A Home In 2007 Does It Qualify For New Home Cash?

Question from a reader:”Kim, I bought a new home in 2007, does it qualify for new home cash?”

building

My answer is: If you mean, does it qualify for the rebate that is being offered for first time new home buyers, sorry you missed it, as Secret Agent Maxwell Smart might say, “by that much”. That much, being in this case, several months. Here is the quote of the information from the IRS website:

The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 provides a new refundable tax credit for individuals who are qualified first-time homebuyers of a principal residence in the United States. The provision applies to a principal residence purchased by the taxpayer on or after April 9, 2008, and before July 1, 2009. Homebuyers who qualify are allowed a one-time credit against their income tax for the year of purchase. Unlike some past credits, this one must be repaid over a 15-year period. As a result, the new tax credit works like an interest free loan. You take the full credit in either 2008 or 2009, and then repay the credit amount in equal payments over 15 years, with no interest charges.

First-Time Homebuyer

A “first-time homebuyer” is any individual (and spouse if married) who had no present ownership interest in a qualifying principal residence during the 3-year period ending on the date of purchase of the principal residence for which a first-time homebuyer credit is being claimed.

Exceptions to definition of First-Time Homebuyer

The following taxpayers do not qualify for the first-time homebuyer credit:

A homebuyer who qualifies for the District of Columbia First-time Homebuyer Credit in the year of purchase or in any prior year
A homebuyer whose home was financed by the proceeds of tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds
A homebuyer who is a nonresident alien
A homebuyer who disposes of the residence (or it ceases to be the taxpayer’s principal residence) before the close of a taxable year for which a credit otherwise would be allowable

So, the short answer, is no, you cannot take the refundable tax credit because you didn’t buy the home in the time frame. My next series of questions though are:

1. Are you deducting your mortgage interest payments?

2. Are you deducting any property tax payments that you are making?

3. Are you amortizing any points you are paying on the house?

In the long run, the above three items amount to thousands of dollars more than the amount of the refundable credit, though that is a nice thing to get back to, if you qualify for it. Thanks for asking the question and I hope you are enjoying your home.

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