Comments on: In Detail: How to Claim the New Home Buyer Tax Credit on 2009 Tax Returns

By: Candy

Candy — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 20:10:29 +0000

Hi,

Does anyone know if I can claim the credit for first time homebuyer? I have never purchased a home but my husband is the Trustee/Beneficiary of his mothers account.
I can’t seem to find any info on it. Thanks

By: JG

JG — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 15:19:49 +0000

Have any of you had any luck w/ the credit? My spouse and I bought a home, but only my name is on the HUD form. The IRS denied the claim because both of our names are not on it. Any way around it?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 22:05:00 +0000

She can probably get it when filing her 2010 tax return along as you do not claim her as a dependant.

By: Grace

Grace — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 23:10:00 +0000

Almost 3 months from the date of my first post here (5/25/2010) I received my rebate – on 8/26/2010 it showed up in my bank account. The number of phone calls, ever more information requests, and so on, was almost beyond belief. Every person I talked to on the phone was very nice and said variations of ‘Oh, I see the problem, it’s an error in (insert host of things like transposed number in SSN, etc.), I’ll fix that right now’… followed by yet another letter from some one else denying the claim for yet another non existent problem requiring further documentation, or harder trying to explain how hard it is to prove a negative –how does one prove they don’t have a husband named ‘we can’t tell you that’ who owns property in some unspecified place (can’t tell you that either)?. But I did finally get the money – they even added on another 106.23 dollars (for which I have no explanation, maybe interest?). While I did get the money I’ve never received any follow up correspondence explaining the extra money, or anything else. Well that’s OK, as I hope never to have to go through that sort of confused mess again. Still it was no doubt worth it, as I did get the money –but I’m left with the feeling it may have been as much serendipity as any actual coherent review process. Good luck to all, I hope your issues get resolved in your favor –but I wouldn’t expect it to be fast…

By: Mpratt125

Mpratt125 — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 21:01:00 +0000

I am mistaken. You can get the current homeowner credit if you lived in the home 5 consecutive years out of the previous 8 years.

By: Mpratt125

Mpratt125 — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 23:39:00 +0000

Did you get your refund? I was just disallowed because I owned a single-wide in a park.
Unfortunately, I can’t qualify for the current homeowner credit either because I sold the mobile home over a year ago. Supposedly there can’t be a gap in ownership.

By: karen Montez

karen Montez — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 14:14:00 +0000

TO Paul I have one better than that! We bought a City-owned home and moved in early because of the delays in closing, (29 Jan 2010). Well, when we did our 2008 taxes, I put in a change of address (didn’t want our refund to go where we weren’t!), so, that was their 1st excuse to review. Now we are on excuse #4. And you are a first time homebuyer and entitled to the credit.

By: Debradawn1969

Debradawn1969 — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 05:03:00 +0000

Sooo, I’ve sent responses to a few people above, but noticed that their posts were some time ago…wondering if anyone has any advice on EXACTLY what documentation you need to turn in to prove that you did NOT have a prior homeownership??????? They have denied us stating that we have a prior homeownership, which we didn’t. We had rented the entire 7 years we were together
until Oct. of 2009, as we were waiting for the market to mellow out to purchase. Now we are getting the runaround….it’s very frustrating. I understand that they need to be cautious, it’s just frustrating for us honest folks out there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By: Debradawn1969

Debradawn1969 — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 04:56:00 +0000

Sounds like us! We were sent a letter asking us for specific documentation for our home purchase last October. We sent in the proper docs and then they said we had a prior homeownership, which we did not! What docs did you need to turn in to prove you did not own anything in the past 3 years?

By: Ffp2lfp

Ffp2lfp — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 04:47:00 +0000

Same thing happenening to us…How did you prove that you did not own a house somewhere else? What sort of documentation was required?

By: Hilam85

Hilam85 — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:54:00 +0000

yes, he can get 8,000 tax return. I have the same problem with your son. I had the contract before April 30, and I closed my house on June 30. That is fine. but if you had the contract after April 30, you wont take it.

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 02:23:17 +0000

yes that is buying from a relative

By: Allan Lewis

Allan Lewis — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 20:54:56 +0000

My daughter bought a house in April 2010 and tried to claim the $8,000 tax credit on her 2009 taxes. I did not realize that I could not claim her on my taxes for 2009 and as a result, she will not receive the credit, even though she bought the house. Can I refile my taxes, remove her, and she refile hers, claiming herself, and fix the problem so she gets her $8,000?

By: Julie

Julie — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 19:25:26 +0000

My Mom is the executrix of my Grandmom’s estate. We bought my Grandmother’s house from the estate. Is this considered buying from a relative ? My Grandmom is dead and my mom does NOT own the house.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 14:09:16 +0000

My family lived in a mobile home located in a park before we purchased our new home November 17, 2009. I had talked with the IRS on three separate occasions and was told that to be eligible for the First Time Home Buyers Credit I had to call the City offices of where I lived and find out if they considered my mobile home to be a permanent structure or not. If they did not consider it to be a permanent structure then I could claim the First Time Home Buyers Credit; the full $8,000 dollars. I was told this by two different IRS representatives. I’m kind of surprised that you were told something totally different when you called them. My husband and I filed our amended return for the full amount based on what we were told by the IRS themselves. If we filed wrong, then it was based on their own faulty information.

By: Becky Perry

Becky Perry — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 18:00:12 +0000

My son (first time homeowner) put a contract on a house 4/28, 2010. Problem was it didn’t appraise it until first week of May and it didn’t appraise and owner wouldn’t come down on price so we were released from contract only to find another house right away on May 18,2010. We went to settlement 6/30/2010. My questions is can he claim the credit because he did go to contract on a house before 4/30, it just wasn’t the one he closed on before 6/30. I was wondering if I put both contract in the amended 2009 return and the HUD-1 statement could he get the credit

By: Brian

Brian — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 23:57:34 +0000

I finally got mine after 6 months. I tried claiming it first through my regular tax return. Got denied, they said I owned a place somewhere when I’ve never owned any property ever and bickered with them for a month. I finally talked to a rep that would at least acknowledge my existence. After setting up some notes and reapplying through a second ammended return and another 10 weeks of waiting I got a deposit in my checking account

By: Adriana

Adriana — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 23:48:23 +0000

We are in the same boat. We don’t even have the same last name as my husbands grandmother. I don’t know how the IRS would know if we sent in a claim, but I can’t bring myself to risk it. We did however purchase before the extension. Does that mean we could actually qualify?? Either way I think were screwed my friend…

By: Kevin

Kevin — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:19:16 +0000

Why is it that there are no exceptions to getting the credit regarding buying from a related person? I understand that many people have taken unfair advantage of this buyer credit and so rules were needed for that purpose; however, what about those situations were a person buys a first home as primary residence from a related person through appropriate channels and at market value? I’m failing to see where there was an advantage in anyway..?

This is the case with me; I bought my parents house at market value in March of this year; it was their primary residence, they bought a new home, put it on the market and so I purchased it. I went to submit the paperwork to claim the credit and found out that Im inelgible. This also shocked both my real estate lawyer and mortgage broker as well. I also talked to my accountant and he said had I purchased the home before the extension, I would have got it. This frustrates me greatly that the only difference from me being elgible is that the seller of the home I purchased has the same last name..there are no finacial ties what so ever!!! Any insight regarding this..?

By: RAGHAVAN JAYARAMAN

RAGHAVAN JAYARAMAN — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 21:05:23 +0000

I purchased a townhome in 2010 and signed a binding contract before May 1,2010 and closed the home before June 30,2010. I’m married filing jointly status and my wife hadn’t signed the purchase contract, but she signed the HUD-1 Settlement statements and we have deeds on our names.
We are first time home buyer, as per 5405 form instructions we need to send both the contract and HUD-1 settlement documents and it says it requires signatures of all parties, but wife didn’t sign the contract and signed only the HUD-1 . Will i get $8000 credit or will IRS reject it on the basis of signatures missing on contract.

By: Chad R.

Chad R. — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 23:10:46 +0000

Did you receive yours yet, Jenny? I have been waiting three months at this point and when I called to check the status they still said “under review.” There doesn’t seem to be any kind of way to move this process along that I’ve discovered and that’s pretty frustrating.

By: Chad R.

Chad R. — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 23:04:00 +0000

Yes, you can however you must file an amended return. This process has been excruciatingly lengthened by the high demand for the tax credit. Most documentation on the IRS website says 8-12 weeks for an amended return to be processed. That has been extended to 12-16 weeks now. It’s sooner than filing in 2010, but it will take some time.

By: Steve Smith

Steve Smith — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 18:10:12 +0000

I filed my 1040 for 2009 on Feb 15 2010. It took 16 weeks for the IRS to process my paper return. The IRS denied my $6500 Home Buyers Tax credit for an invalid reason. They claimed I had a prior home ownership which made my claim ineligable. I had owned my prior residence for 9 years prior to buying the new one on 22 Dec 2009. I sent the home purchase closing statement and 6 years of 1098′s. I claimed the correct amount, used the proper form 5405, entered on my 1040 in the appropriate line and attached the supporting documentation. I am now in the process of writing them following several telephone calls to thier office. I qualified as a long term resident but the credit and it was disallowed in error. All this means is, the credit is not easy to get. I am sure I am not the only one in this situation.. Despite this, my research shows that prisoners in jail have obtained the credit. I am getting the credit or I am going to court. I will get it, it is just not going to be easy !

By: Jen

Jen — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 14:17:55 +0000

I am trying to claim the credit on my 2009 tax return for a house purchased in 2010. I originally filed a 1040EZ form because I had no other deductions. Since you cannot claim the credit on the 1040EZ form, is the 1040X enough to amend my original return for purposes of claiming the credit? I assume this is the case, just looking for confirmation.

By: Laurie

Laurie — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 03:49:58 +0000

We mailed our tax return on April 14th and had our refund by the third week of May.

By: Tabnmel

Tabnmel — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 02:11:27 +0000

About how long did it take for you to recieve your Credit back? I filed mine a week and a half ago and I am just trying to figure out when I should be getting it back. Estimation is just fine with me!!! :)

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:34:43 +0000

My wife has owned her home for eight years now and we have both been living there. I am not on the title or the mortgage of that home. Recently, I purchased a new home but she is not on the title or the mortgage of that one. We do file taxes jointly. Would we be eligible for the 6500 tax credit?

By: Valerie K. Bowers

Valerie K. Bowers — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 21:07:53 +0000

What if we already filed our taxes in April and closed on our home in May (with it going under contract in March). Can we still claim the refund for 2009?

By: Valerie K. Bowers

Valerie K. Bowers — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 20:07:00 +0000

What if we already filed our taxes in April and closed on our home in May (with it going under contract in March). Can we still claim the refund for 2009?

By: Jessica

Jessica — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 18:32:44 +0000

If my boyfriend and I are buying a house together and its in both our names, do we both need to claim the $8,000 credit together or can just one of us claim it? Also, I already filed my 2009 taxes, to claim the credit do I need to do an addendum? If so, how do I do this and what forms do I need?

Thanks!

By: Dacialarson

Dacialarson — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:08:40 +0000

I amended my 08 taxes August of 2009. It has been ten months since I have applied. Our paperwork has been amended twice, and each time you get amended it takes 12-15 weeks for a reply. Our last paperwork consisted of our final appraisal report which we had to send in replace of the certificate of occupancy. We don't recieve those types of certificates outside the city limits. We are in high hopes to recieve a check within two weeks…Ha! Could it really be true!! The IRS is making sure that we have every piece of paperork correct and who knew it would take three to four months to correct paperwork….but it does….All I can say is make sure you send in any and all paperwork that you can the first time. It's crucial to a timely return.

By: Dacialarson

Dacialarson — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 08:08:40 +0000

By: Brett

Brett — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 13:22:01 +0000

Does anyone know? I signed my contract before the april deadline but I am not going to make the june 30th. I currently work overseas as a security contractor working under a contract with the state dept. Does anyone know if that qualifies me for the military extension into 2011, is say foriegn service empoyees and under that on the actual document it say Forein Service support personnel, would that be me? I am not an employee of the state dept. I am just a contractor working under the State Dept.

By: Erin

Erin — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:03:12 +0000

Just a fix to my previous message, my husband now is not who i bought the previous house with.

By: Erin

Erin — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:01:46 +0000

I’m having trouble finding out if i would be considered a first time homebuyer or not. In early 2006 I bought a house with my current fiance, I never made any payments on the mortgage on the home. In April of 2006 i moved out of the home and have not lived there since. I have not made any payments on the home and it has not been my primary residence since 2006, because of the issues with refinancing i have not been able to get my name off of the home as of today. Me and my husband now are buying a home and are closing on it june 14th so my question is would we beable to claim the first time homebuyers tax credit even though my name is still on the other house? Also how would i prove to the IRS that the house has not been my primary residence?
Thanks

By: Grace

Grace — Sat, 29 May 2010 01:47:30 +0000

Thanks DB, I’ll do that. When I find out how it turns out I’ll report further.

Thanks again.

By: DB

DB — Tue, 25 May 2010 14:44:17 +0000

From my discussion with the IRS, the fact that you did not own a home that was your principal residence would make you a first time buyer.

I also found this definition of first time home buyer on a Website sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders (http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/faq1.php#2):

“The law defines “first-time home buyer” as a buyer who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase. For married taxpayers, the law tests the homeownership history of both the home buyer and his/her spouse.

For example, if you have not owned a home in the past three years but your spouse has owned a principal residence, neither you nor your spouse qualifies for the first-time home buyer tax credit. However, IRS Notice 2009-12 allows unmarried joint purchasers to allocate the credit amount to any buyer who qualifies as a first-time buyer, such as may occur if a parent jointly purchases a home with a son or daughter. Ownership of a vacation home or rental property not used as a principal residence does not disqualify a buyer as a first-time home buyer.”

The last statement seems to apply to you — that ownership of a property not used as a principal residence does not disquaIify a buyer as a first-time home buyer.

I would certainly apply for the credit.

By: Grace

Grace — Tue, 25 May 2010 05:03:31 +0000

I lived with my sister for several years, as a non paying guest, in her manufactured home, in a park where she paid rent for the space. She developed cancer and died in a very short time (within days of being hospitalized), she made a gift of the mobile home to me, while she was alive, not as part of her estate, so I could sell it –the space rent alone was twice my Social Security disability check. I sold it within a couple of months, but had packed up and was not actually residing there, but betwixt and between while trying to get packed and moved. I sold it and some months later bought a home in another state. I have never owned any home before and qualify on all counts, date, income, etc., but the question has come up as to whether or not I have owned a previous home because of the mobile home my sister gave me, but that I never actually used as a primary residence –at least in so far as I would think of actually living someplace (I spent most of the time before I got it sold trying to keep the park owner from taking a lean out on it in –I couldn’t pay the rent until it sold). So, do you think I’m a first time home buyer or not? I can’t seem to find an answer to this and the IRS is not being at all helpful, so far. Thanks for any response you may be able to give (especially tips on how to get a definitive answer to this).

By: Paul

Paul — Thu, 20 May 2010 11:55:38 +0000

Brian,

I am going through the same thing. I have to say, the woman I talked to was very nice and told me exactly what I needed to submitt. I am expecting a delay, however I think it will be worth it in the end. I have to respect what they are doing, from what I read about all the fraud from the first round, its no wonder they are being so diligent.

By: Brian Stevens

Brian Stevens — Thu, 20 May 2010 04:00:09 +0000

I qaulify for the fthb credit but have been denided. I called the irs and the phone rep went through what he could and reconfirmed that I do indeed qualify and he resubmitted it. I’ve since gotten another letter wanting anther 45 days for research. they think I own another house somewere. I told them to give me an address, maybe this supposed place I own is nicer than mine, they didn’t think that was funny. Anyways I’m stiull in limbo on it. I filed Feb 2nd and I’m still waiting.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Thu, 13 May 2010 14:18:26 +0000

We filed for the first time homebuyer tax credit on February 15, 2010. We still have not received it. Every time I call to see what the status is, they tell me it is “under review” and give no reasons why. I know that we qualify as I have read and understand the specifics. Our tax accountant also doesn’t understand why its taking three months. Will the IRS pay interest on this money if we get it? Anyone else experiencing this?

By: Donna

Donna — Wed, 12 May 2010 23:29:07 +0000

Can you tell me when filling the 1040X on line 14; do you include the credits already filed on the original 1040 form?

By: Paul

Paul — Tue, 11 May 2010 18:02:59 +0000

I was married in 2005, my wife at the time had her own home. We were divorced in June 2009, I purchased my house in Dec. 2009. This was the first time I had ever purchased a home. I was denied because of mortgage interest credit claimed on tax returns when I was married filing jointly. I would like to appeal this, however if I am not going to have a leg to stand on I really dont want to waste my time. Has anyone run into this? I wish I would have seen this coming, like I said, it was this is the first house I have ever purchased.

By: dave

dave — Tue, 11 May 2010 04:54:45 +0000

how can they call it a home if it has a car title if i lived in a van down by the river for the last five yrs. your saying i still dont qualify as anew home buyer i hate the irs also i was told that if thats true i still cant get the 6500 cuz i bought my house 1 month early in 09 i thought it was anytime in 09 i was told when i bought it i was getting the 8000 they even showed me what papers i needed for it then i went to do my taxes and was told they didnt think i could get anything

By: DB

DB — Wed, 05 May 2010 14:10:45 +0000

I actually ended up calling the IRS on this one. Mobile homes count both ways. What I mean is this: if you purchase a mobile home on rented land (such as a park,) you are eligible for one of the tax credits as long as you meet all of the other requirements. Also, if you sell your mobile home (if it’s your primary residence) to move into another home (which will be your primary residence,) you are eligible for the long time credit (up to $6500) as long as you meet all of the other requirements. So, owning a mobile home on rented land that is your primary residence does as being a current home owner. Under this circumstance, you should not take the first time credit of up to $8,000, but instead claim the $6,500 credit. The representative from the IRS explained that as long as you own the home in which you are living, you are a current homeowner. He further explained that this includes mobile homes, house boats, trailers or any other structure that you own and use as your primary residence, whether it could be classified as personal property or not.

By: Josh

Josh — Wed, 05 May 2010 08:33:13 +0000

They are requiring the HUD-1 to fight fraud. I read that 90,000 people filed false claims for this credit. That’s a lot of money lost if they were to receive it. I don’t think it’s too much to provide our settlement statement if we’re getting $8,000. It’s not like the government is going to sell all your information to third parties (a la Facebook).

By: John

John — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 17:21:53 +0000

I borrowed money from the seller to purchase my land and build my house. I don’t have any “closing documents” and Missouri doesn’t issue Certificates of Occupancy for rural properties. What I do have is the deed of trust and contracts from the seller. Will this satisfy the IRS requirements?

By: Jill Sarven

Jill Sarven — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 11:49:58 +0000

We close on another home April 30 2010 we have already had our taxes for 2009 done and received our refund . My question is you can do an amendment to this still and received the $6500 that we qualify for with this form 5405 is that correct in my thinking…and received another refund/rebate check this year .Thanks

By: Daniel1913

Daniel1913 — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 17:52:52 +0000

Question: Trust XYZ purchased a home in 2009. Can the trust or trustee claim a First Time Homebuyer credit?

By: DMCICL

DMCICL — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 17:09:48 +0000

My husband and I bought the new construction condo last May but didn’t recieve certificate of occupancy. The only thing we have is the residential condominium unit deed and declaration of homestead. Can we file this instead of certificate of occupancy for $8000 first home buyer credit? thank you cery much!