Will There be a Home Buyer Tax Credit Extension?

If you’re furiously trying to close on a home by June 30 to qualify for a federal tax credit, you may be getting more time.


Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is proposing to extend the deadline to Sept. 30. But it would apply only to buyers who signed contracts by April 30.

So that means you can’t qualify for the $8,000 or $6,500 credits by rushing out now, buying a home and completing the deal by Sept. 30.

As the Associated Press reports, Reid, in a re-election year, introduced the measure as an amendment to a bill that would extend unemployment benefits through the end of November. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., also are sponsoring the proposal. The Senate is expected to consider it the week of June 14.

A spokesman for the National Association of Realtors told the AP that a “whole bunch” of loans won’t close on time without the extension. The Realtors' group said an extension would help people who are trying to buy short sales and buyers whose deals are delayed because of the expiration of the National Flood Insurance Program.