First-time homebuyer tax credit may get extended... and expanded

Well it looks like the first-time home buyer tax credit is gaining some traction for an extension and an expansion. There are several bills on the hill - in both the House and the Senate - that are aimed at extending and expanding the $8,000 tax credit.

Here are two that are of note that are currently in the works.

• Representative Joe Courtney (D-CT-2) introduced the First-Time Home buyer Tax Extension Act (H.R. 1993) which, if enacted, would extend the First-Time Home buyer Tax Credit through 2010. H.R.1993 has been referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means for further review.
  
  
• The Home Buyer Tax Credit Act (S.1230) was introduced by Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) on June 10, 2009. If enacted, S. 1230 would replace the $8,000 tax credit established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act with a $15,000 maximum tax credit for first-time home buyers. Under this Act, repayment of the credit is waived unless the home is sold or unoccupied within a two-year window. S. 1230 has been referred to the Senate Finance Committee.
  
  
• The Senate has already agreed to extend the existing tax credit for first-time home buyers while offering a reduced credit of up to $6,500 to repeat buyers who have owned their current homes for at least five years.

It should be noted that nothing is a done deal yet as both the House and Senate must agree to any differences before sending a bill off to the President for final ratification. Congress is also looking into the finances and fraud related to the tax credit and I'm sure that will have to be resolved before anything happens for sure.