New Home Purchase Stimulus

• Multiple stimulus acts play a part in how much of a tax deduction or tax credit you can claim for your new home purchase. Each act has different deadlines that must be met to qualify, and each has different maximum credit amounts you can qualify for. There are also variations in the amount of money you can earn and how long you must live in the new home you purchase.
  
  

Home Purchased in 2008

• The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 helped taxpayers who purchased their home in 2008. Under this recovery act, homebuyers could receive up to $7,500 in tax credits, but it was treated as a long-term, interest-free loan that would be repaid to the IRS in even payments over the following 15 years.
  
  

Home Purchased in 2009-2010

• The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 expanded and adjusted the terms for qualified first-time homebuyers. Under this act, if you purchased a new home in 2009 but before Dec. 1, 2009, you could qualify for up to $8,000 in tax credits. This tax credit was a full deduction and not a loan with payback requirements. The purchase deadline was extended to May 1, 2010, by the Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009 as long as the closing date on your new home purchase was before July 1, 2010. The Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act of 2010 extended that deadline to Sept. 30, 2010.
  
  

Home Stimulus Restrictions

• If you purchased your new home in 2009 or 2010, you do not have to pay back the stimulus money as long as you live in the home as your primary residence for at least three years. The 2010 changes also made the tax credits available to long-term homeowners who wanted to buy a new primary residence and increased the income restriction limitations.