No credit card required
Browse credit cards from a variety of issuers to see if there's a better card for you.
Fifteen grand sounds good.
Any idea how the income level is calculated? I'm a single guy and contribute to my 401K. I boosted my contributions to avoid the $78,850 trap.
I'm looking at my W-2.
Box 1 $76,900
Box 3 $82,500
Hey Fatdumbhappy,
The numbers are based on Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI).
You have to use your tax form to figure it out, not your W-2.
Please refer to Questions 6 & 7 on this link for help:
http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/faq.php#4
If your MAGI is 75k or below, you get the full credit.
If it's above 75k but below 95k, you get a partial credit.
Incomes above 95k for single filers do not qualify at all.
You can look at Question 8 for an example of a partial credit.
CanDo
"The right attitude is everything"
@llecs wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:Holy crap. What's all of this talk about $15k?
Honestly, that seems like a heck of a lot of money to me. I guess they are REALLY trying to get home buyers out there. Wow.
I'm holding out for $30k myself. j/k
Haha. You crack me up.
Here's a question. The current tax credit is 10% of the purchase price up to $7500. If they double it does that just mean that houses over $75,000 are eligible up to 150k? Or would I be eligible for 15K because my house cost 95k and I received the full $7500?
Also, I purchased in August 2008. I've heard talk that it wouldn't be retroactive. Why wouldn't it be?
Hi Elevatn,
As you know, the devil is in the details.
So we'll have to wait and see what the
final version looks like.
But for the sake of argument, let's use your example.
Let's assume the new cap for the tax credit is $15,000.
Based on your home purchase last August for 95k, that means
your tax credit would be $9,500 (10% of purchase price).
Anyone else who qualifies for the credit and buys a home for
150k or more will receive the maximum tax credit of $15,000 .
Partial tax credits are also available, but they phase out completely
for single filers who earn more than 95k and for married filers earning
more than 170k. Here's a link that explains how partial tax credits work.
Focus on Questions 6 thru 8:
http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/faq.php#4
Regarding your second question: the original date for qualifying
for the tax credit is April 2008. Since you bought your house
last August, you should be fine.However, there is some talk about
pushing back this date to the beginning of 2008. But right now
it's just nothing more than conversation...
Like I said, the final version (along with the final details) are still
up in the air. The Senate will be passing their version shortly, but
the final version will be hashed out in a joint committee before
reaching the Prez's desk for signature. So let's keep our fingers
crossed and hope for the best.
CanDo
"The right attitude is everything"
CanDo,
If they pass it and it goes to 15k for everyone in 2008 as well, will the extra 7500 be given even to those who have already filed?
Hi V8,
We'll have to wait and see what the final bill looks like. I'm sure
you would receive instructions on how to claim the additional
funds if, in fact, you were entitled to an additional 7500.
But like I said, the devil's in the details. So don't get your hopes up
just yet. Let's sit tight and see how things play out cuz lots of options
are on the table.....
CanDo
"The right attitude is everything"
Hi ponderous,
If I'm not mistaken, both the House and Senate versions
allow for the tax credit to be used as a downpayment.
The Senate version now being debated wants to raise the
cap on the tax credit from $7,500 to $15,000 .
But once again, this is a very fluid situation. I think towards
the end of this week we'll have a better feel for what the final
bill might look like. Let's stay tuned for more details....
CanDo
"The right attitude is everything"
Here's the latest update re the tax credit:
There's a Senate proposal afoot that says everyone who
buys a house this year would receive a tax credit of up to
$15,000. The only exception would be for first time
homebuyers --- that credit would be capped at $7,500.
No mention was made of income limits.
So for those of you who have been looking for a ray of
hope on this front, this might be it....with emphasis on
the word "might".
Here's the link for the Yahoo! article. Just scroll down about
two-thirds of the way to read the part about the tax credit:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090204/ap_on_bi_ge/congress_stimulus
I'm sure more details will be coming as the day progresses....
CanDo
"The right attitude is everything"