Proposal for extending first time home buyer tax credit!

First time buyer tax credit extended! A new Senate proposal will offer a first time home buyer tax credit extension to homes under contract by April 30, 2010. The former deadline was November 30, 2009. The home buyer tax credit will also be offered to people who have lived in the same home for five years, according to the proposal, which at time of writing hasn’t passed yet, but has bipartisan support.

First time homebuyers, the income level to qualify is $75,000/150,000 (couple).
For step up buyers the income level to qualify is $125,000/250,000 (couple).
For first time buyers the credit remains $8,000.
For step up buyers, they must have been residing in their primary residence for 5 years.
For Step up buyers the credit is 10% of the sales price, with a maximum of $6,500.
The credit runs from Dec. 1, 2009 to April 30, 2010.
For legitimate sales contracts as of April 30, 2010 you have 60 days to close.
There is a waiver for military.
An agreement reached yesterday by the Democrats would let homeowners who buy a new home qualify for a $6,500 credit if they have lived in their prior residence for five years, according to Regan Lachapelle, an aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

“The compromise we have now would expand the credit beyond first-time homebuyers,” Lachapelle said. Lawmakers expect to consider the measure as part of a bill to extend unemployment benefits, she said. That measure has been held up by a disagreement with Republicans over other proposed amendments.

Lawmakers have said they want to keep home sales from slipping as the economy struggles to recover from the worst drop in home prices since the Great Depression. The plan would extend the homebuyers credit, due to expire Nov. 30, to home purchases under contract by April 30, 2010, with borrowers allowed another 60 days to close the sale, according to a person familiar with the details of the agreement.

The credit would be available to individuals earning up to $125,000, or $250,000 for couples, up from $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples under the current law.