First time buyers can qualify for up to $7500 in tax credits, by simply buying a new home! With lower home prices (foreclosures as low as 60cents on the dollar), record low interest rates (4.75 30 year fixed) and large selection of homes, there is no better reason to buy now!

The First-time Home Buyer Tax Credit was passed in 2008 as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (H.R. 3221) and gives first time home buyers an interest free loan from the government. Taxpayers can take the credit on their 2008 tax return if they buy their house after April 9, 2008 and July 1, 2009. The credit has simple qualifications that can easily be met.

How to qualify for tax credit:

• First time home buyer - individual or household that hasn’t owned a home for at least three years
• Purchase a home between April 9, 2008 and July 1, 2009.
• Income limits are $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for households. Individuals whose income exceeds the $75,000 limit but isn’t more than $95,000 can still take the credit but on a reduced basis. The same thing applies to households earning up to $170,000.
• Home must be primary residence

The tax credit is worth up to $7,500 and can be taken in a single tax year. The actual credit amount is set as a percentage of the home purchase amount. That percentage amount is 10 percent, so the homebuyer can get 10 percent of the home price credited against their tax liability, up to a maximum $7,500.

Buyers have 15 years to pay the credit back at a rate of 6.67-percent increments over 15 years. For that reason, some analysts have likened the credit to a 15-year, interest-free loan to help make home buying affordable.

Get more information on tax credit here http://www.realtor.org/gapublic.nsf/files/hbtaxcreditqa2008.pdf/$FILE/hbtaxcreditqa2008.pdf