The home buyer’s tax credit is about to expire. To qualify, you must have signed a contract for a home purchase by April 30. Then you must actually close the sale by June 30. This credit is only for a principal residence so you must move into the home you buy after the sale is closed.
In truth, there are two tax credits facing the same deadline:
* An $8,000 credit for first-time homebuyers. To qualify, you must not have owned a home and lived in it during the three years before the purchase.
* A $6,500 credit for long-time residents. To qualify, you must have owned a home and lived in it for five consecutive years out of the eight years before the home purchase.
Income limits may prevent some home buyers from taking either credit.