Individuals who buy a home for the first time before December 1, 2009, qualify for a federal tax credit worth up to $8,000. The first time home buyer tax credit is fully refundable, and people can amend their 2008 tax return to claim an additional refund related to this credit. The possibility of extra refunds was apparently from such a short-lived tax break was apparently too tempting for one tax preparer from Jacksonville, Florida, who plead guilty to charges of falsely claiming the refund on a client's tax return. The IRS is now warning taxpayers to be alert against fraudulent attempts to claim this home buyer credit, lest they too face tax fraud charges.
Apparently tax preparers aren't the only people aware of this tax credit. One of my clients recently bought the first home she ever owned, and the whole home buying and escrow process was new and overwhelming. Within days of receiving her initial escrow papers, she started receiving an avalanche of junk e-mail and phone calls, some of them peddling "federal grants" for buying a home. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has already alerted the public that there are no federal grants to help people buy a home.
Some tips for home buyers:
- Ask your accountant to review the final escrow papers and prepare your homebuyer credit.
- If you see something suspicious on your tax return, or you're getting a refund much larger than expected, ask your accountant to explain how he arrived at the results.
- If you're preparing your own return, remember to claim the homebuyer credit after escrow closes.
Even though QuickBooks sales desk said otherwise, QuickBooks 2009 is not compatible with Windows Small Business Server 2008. The only way to use the program in the multiuser mode is to have one on the seats acting as a host. The server cannot act as a host unless it is running QuickBooks, i.e. taking up one of the licenses. The host has to be designated and the host workstation must be running for any of the other workstations to be run the program. I was on the phone for 4 hours with tech support at QuickBooks. The file can reside on the server, but that is all. The server does not act as a server, just as a disk drive. I paid for three licenses and can only use two if I want to user my server.
This will be the last Intuit program I buy. Fourteen years of use and I am fed up with the constant nickle and dime approach of Intuit. Add to that a buggy program that they are making false claims about and I advise any new users to look elsewhere.
My daughter amended her 2008 taxes via her accountant and filled in the form and mailed off for the $8,000 first time homebuyers credit That was over a month ago. An article we had read said it takes 2-3 weeks. Do you have any idea how we can track the check?
Joan Moon
My daughter and her husband bought their very first home earlier this year. The closing took place in March after they filed their 2008 taxes and received their normal refund during February.
In early April, she filed an amended 2008 return along with form 5405 seeking the tax credit refund. As of today (9/18/09), no check. Repeated calls to the IRS always result in the same answer: ’still processing’.
Just wondering what everyone else is experiencing regarding this issue.
Same problem with “still processing” amended return! Closed June 26th, IRS received amended return on July 7th and up until yesterday….still processing. Now I received a letter stating that I need to provide information so they can verify my purchase. Faxed that in today and spoke with someone at the IRS who now states that my process/WAIT starts all over! I am moved to the bottom of the barrel…no July date anymore now October. They will “process” this new information and be back in touch!
This is my first home. I have NO doubts whatsoever they will find any issues or fraudulent activity but this is real BS that I was told from the get go that it took 8-12 weeks for an amended return….then it changed since they were swamped, 12-16 weeks, now I may even have to wait longer!!!
Obama made sure the car dealers received their money for the cash for clunkers and this program started before that one. I will complain to anyone and everyone about this because this was the main reason that I bought a home this year. It was not the only reason as I have been trying to save up for my first home but majorly been trying to save for the past three years. This program definitely made me take the plunge using my life savings! I want my money!
We closed on our house Mar. 31 2009 and we filed an amended return the next day. IRS received our amended return on April 3, 2009. In July I called – a week later I received a later asking for the settlement statement – sent that the next day. In September I called again – the lady said my documents had NOT been reviewed yet. A week later I received another letter asking for 3 months of utility bills, deed and a tax statement. Sent that in the next day. Yesterday I received a phone call and got the same info – I am moved to the bottom of the pile because my last documents were sent in Sept. Also received a letter yesterday saying they would let me know something by Dec. 14. Soooo I’m in my 7th month now… It is very frustrating and discouraging.
Looking forward to reading through more. Excellent blog post.Many thanks again. Fantastic.