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President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 into law last week.  Of note to potential home buyers and current home owners was Section 1006, which granted an “Extension of and Increase in First-Time Homebuyer Credit” as well as a Waiver of the requirement to Repay.  Here are the details:

• The previous tax credit was given to those that purchased their first home up until July 1st, 2009.  The new extension of the tax credit replaces that date with December 1st, 2009
• The previous tax credit was $7,500.00.  The new tax credit is $8,000.00
• The previous tax credit was essentially a $7,500 loan from the government to be repaid over time.  The new tax credit is does not require that you repay (with some exceptions…generally if you sell your home within a 3 year period from purchase).
• The effective date of this tax credit is December 31st, 2008.

To get more information on the original bill that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 revised, we’ve linked to a previous post of ours that explains the details of the old $7,500 tax credit

If you have any questions on the $8,000 tax credit and how it impacts you as a home buyer, don’t hesitate to ask.

Related Posts:

Your $7500 Tax Rebate | H.R. 3221, the “Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008″ | Why You Should Care Series – Post 2