Tax Credits in a Nutshell

Hello Wichita!

There has been a flurry of legal activity over the past couple of weeks dealing with tax credits for home owners and home buyers. The complete laws are complex, and reading them makes an excellent treatment for insomnia (trust me, I've tried). So to save you some time, here is some bottom-line information about the current tax credits:

* First Time Home Buyers (that means you haven't owned a principle residence in 3 years or more) are eligible for up to $8,000 in tax credit when they buy a home. For details, visit my tax credit page.

* Five-Year Home Owners (that means you've lived in the same principle residence for the past 5 years or more) are eligible for up to $6,500 in tax credit when they buy a new home. For details, visit my tax credit page.
 
* Home Owners who are NOT buying new homes may STILL earn tax credits if they make improvements which make their homes more energy-effecient. Home owners may earn up to 30% of the cost of improvements ($1,500 maximum) for improving certain home features and up to 30% of the cost (with no upper limit) for other improvements.  For details, click here.

This sort of policy is the silver lining to our economic struggles, so I highly recommend taking advantage of them if you can! If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in a comment on this blog entry.

Cheers!
-Chelsea