Tennesseans Nab $345.9M in Homebuyer Tax Credit

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Nashville Business Journal

Tennesseans have qualified for $345.9 million in homebuyer tax credits through the Internal Revenue Service's tax credit program.

Through mid-February, almost 48,000 Tennessee homebuyers had filed returns to collect their tax credits. Nearly 1.8 million nationally have done so, collecting $12.6 billion in credits for homes purchased in 2008 and 2009, the IRS said in a release.

The program ends April 30. To qualify, homebuyers must have a binding contract by that date and must close on the home by June 30.

Homebuyers can receive up to $8,000 in credit for a new home if it is their first home or first home in three years. Existing home owners can receive up to $6,500 as long as they have lived in their old home for five consecutive years during an eight-year period ending on the purchase date of the new home.

Lucy Smith, president of the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, said the tax credit is driving a surge in sales activity that she expects to continue for the next few months.