THE $8,000 TAX CREDIT TO GET EXTENDED AND EXPANDED

If you live in the Seattle metropolitan area and you have owned your home for 5 of the last 8 years, than you can receive a tax credit, if you move up. Check the details below. Pay attention to the deadlines. You have to be under contract by April 30, 2010 and close by the end of June 2010

The $8,000 homebuyer tax credit for first-time buyers, will be extended through April 30 of next year and buyers will have an additional two months, until the end of June, to close. First-time buyers who are in the process of making a purchase will no longer need to worry about qualifying for the $8,000 credit if they close after the November 30 deadline. The new legislation increases the income limit for couples with income up to $225,000, a nearly $55,000 increase above the level in existing law.

For the first time, the new legislation makes buyers who already own a home eligible for a credit. A $6,500 maximum credit will be available to existing homeowners who have lived in their current residence for five of the prior eight years. The legislation limits eligibility for the existing homeowner credit to homes worth $800,000 or less.

The legislation takes effect December 1 and is not retroactive. Both credits are available only for primary residences, not second homes or investment properties.