Homebuyer Tax Credit Extended for One Year for Certain Qualified Service Members

OKLAHOMA CITY –  Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency is informing members of the military that Congress has extended for one year the availability of the federal homebuyer tax credits for certain qualified service members. The federal homebuyer tax credits include the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers and the $6,500 tax credit for eligible repeat home buyers.  

Congress has authorized a one-year extension for qualified service members who are ordered on official extended duty. Official extended duty is defined as any period of extended duty outside of the United States for at least 90 days during the period beginning after Dec. 31, 2008 and ending before May 1, 2010. To qualify for this extension, the service member must sign a binding sales contract on or before April 30, 2011 and then close his or her home loan on or before June 30, 2011.  

A qualified service member who is forced to return to the U.S. for medical reasons before completing an assignment of at least 90 days of qualified official extended duty outside of the United States may qualify for the one-year extension.  

A taxpayer receiving a federal homebuyer tax credit who either sells the home or ceases to use the home as a principal residence within three years of the initial purchase, generally, must repay the tax credit. However, a qualified service member receiving a federal homebuyer tax credit who sells or moves within three years of the initial purchase due to official extended duty is exempt from this requirement.