BOSTON HOMES BLOG

December data are down

— By: Marilyn Jackson

December home sales data reflect a slow market with soft prices, according to Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of the Warren Group, which publishes Banker & Tradesman. Its report was released Jan. 24. Home sales of single-family homes across the state dropped 5 percent in December in a year-over-year comparison, while condo sales dropped 15.75 [...]

City collects $9.4 million from non-profits

— By: Marilyn Jackson

The city has collected $9.4 million from non-profit, tax-exempt organizations for the first half of fiscal year 2012, a 24 percent increase from fiscal year 2011, Mayor Thomas M. Menino stated in a press release Friday. The city had requested $10.8 million. Guidelines for the PILOT or payment in lieu of taxes program were revised [...]

— By: Linda Goodspeed

Homebuyer tax credit nears deadline

Time is running out on the government’s homebuyer tax credits. And unlike last year, when Congress and the Obama administration extended the credits, a new extension won’t happen. This is it. The deadline is April 30, 2010.

First-time homebuyers, that is people who have not owned a home in the last three years, can get a tax credit of up to $8,000 ($4,000 for married couples filing separately) if they have a signed purchase-and-sale agreement in hand by April 30, 2010.

Existing homeowners can get a tax credit of $6,500 ($3,250 for married couples filing separately) provided they, too, have a signed contract to purchase a new home by April 30.

In both cases, parties must close on the sale by June 30, 2010. The tax credits are for primary residences only; no vacation homes please.

Existing homeowners must have lived in their current home as their primary residence for at least five consecutive years in the last eight years prior to buying the new home.

If you are building a new home, you can still get the credits, depending on which one applies.

If you are building a home the purchase date is considered the date you move in. Other restrictions concern income.

If you purchased the home after Nov. 6, 2009, you can get the full credit if your adjusted gross income is $125,000 or less. Married couples filing jointly and buying a home after Nov. 6, 2009, can earn up to $225,000 and still get the full credit amounts. Income limits are lower for purchases made before Nov. 6, 2009 ($75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for married couples filing jointly).

You can claim the credit by using IRS form 5405. The form must accompany your 2008, 2009 or 2010 income tax return, depending on the year you claim the credit.

If you have already filed your ’08 or ’09 tax return without claiming the credit, you can file an amended return. Along with form 5405, you will have to include certain additional supporting documents, including a copy of your settlement statement used to buy the home.

Existing homeowners claiming the credit will also have to include proof of residency for the last five years, such as mortgage interest statements, property tax records or insurance records.

 

 

 

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