Charleston Military – Time is Running Out to Claim the Federal Home Buyer Tax Credit

Congress acknowledged the unique circumstances affecting members of the military, the Foreign Service and the intelligence community by extending the Home Buyer Tax Credit for qualified service members. 

The extension applies to any individual (or spouse) who serves on qualified official extended duty service outside of the United States for at least 90 days during the period beginning after Dec. 31, 2008, and ending before May 1, 2010.

The fed­eral home buyer tax credit ranges up to $8,000 for first-time Charleston AFB home buy­ers and up to $6,500 for exist­ing home­own­ers. Exist­ing home­own­ers must have lived in their “main home” through 5 of the last 8 years to be eligible.

Claim­ing the fed­eral tax credit is a two-step process. First, eli­gi­ble Charleston military must be under con­tract for a new home on or before April 30, 2011.  The home’s clos­ing must then occur on or before June 30, 2011. 

Eli­gi­bil­ity requirements:                                       

• The home may not be pur­chased from a par­ent, spouse, or child
• The home may not be pur­chased from an entity in which the seller is a major­ity owner
• The home may not be acquired by gift or inheritance
• Each buyer must meet tax credit eli­gi­bil­ity standards
• The home sale price may not exceed $800,000
• Buy­ers may not earn more than $125,000 as single-filers; $225,000 as joint-filers

Also, the IRS is giv­ing eli­gi­ble buy­ers a tax credit as opposed to a deduc­tion.  This means that a tax­payer qual­i­fy­ing for the full $8,000, and for whom the “nor­mal” 2011 fed­eral tax lia­bil­ity is $8,000, will have zero fed­eral tax lia­bil­ity in 2011.

The com­plete pro­gram descrip­tion is pub­lished on the IRS web­site.

About Military Homes of CharlestonMilitary Homes of Charleston is part of the Exit Realty Charleston Group and is a full-service real estate team based in Charleston, SC.  We understand the appeal of living in Charleston and the challenges that come with moving to a new neighborhood or state. So whether you’re looking to buy a dream property or sell one, we can help.

Torri Jacobsen, Military Homes of CharlestonBuying or selling a home doesn’t have to be hard, but choosing the right Realtor DOES make a difference. I specialize in making first-time home buying a great experience for military families moving to the Charleston, SC area. Call (843-475-9313) or email today, and let’s make this your best move yet! You’ll feel right at home with me.   Email Torri or Visit Me On Facebook!

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