Saturday, February 5, 2011

Homeowners credit

 

For those who took the Homeowners credit in 2008, the first installment of payment is due with your 2008 taxes. This is because the 2008 homeowners credit worked like a 15 year interest free loan. However, the credit if taken in 2009 and 2010 will not have to be repaid as long as the home is occupied for 36 months. So what happens if you bought a home in 2008, took the credit and then sold it last year. Well, in general you must pay the amount of the credit unless you meet the following exceptions:

  • You transfer your home as part of a divorce settlement. In this case your former spouse  who keeps the home is responsible for making the rest of the repayments.
  • Your home is destroyed or condemned
  • You lose your home in foreclosure, in this case you repay the credit only to the amount of gain.
  • You die
  • You sell  your main home to an unrelated person, you repay the credit only up to the amount of gain. The amount owed on the credit is taken into consideration when computing gain or loss.