Not all first-time home buyers qualify for credit

Mar 26, 2010 1 min read

To the editor:

I would be interested in how many new residents applied for the first-time homeowner tax credit and were turned down.

I purchased a home in Cape Coral and closed on April 15, 2009. The home is in my name only. I had not owned a home in my name in more than 30 years. Because I filed a joint tax return last year with my wife whose maiden name is on the former house that was passed down through death in the family, I was denied the $8,000 tax credit and the $6,500 tax credit because I purchased the home before November of 2009.

Make sure you read the fine print on the IRS stipulations. When you try and do something the right way the government says no. Yet people who never purchased a home and documented 7-year-olds get checks from the IRS for $8,000. I asked the IRS about this and their answer was they will catch up with them eventually and try to get the money back.

Ed Miedema

Cape Coral