Georgia’s $1,800 Tax Credit Update
There’s been much talk recently about the extension of the federal housing tax credit for first time home buyers, but no one has addressed the Georgia home buyer tax credit. If you recall, Governor Sonny Perdue signed the Housing Tax Credit Bill (House Bill 261) into a law back in May 2009. The bill provided an income tax credit for the purchase of a single-family home in the amount of $1,800 or 1.2% of the purchase price, whichever was less. And, the great thing about this tax credit, is that it was open to everyone purchasing a home, not just first-time home buyers.
Unfortunately, the tax credit was set to expire after only six months time, meaning that anyone purchasing a home in Georgia after November 30th would not be eligible. It seems like the eligibility period just came and went without us even realizing it!
Now, we are asking everyone in the real estate industry if they have heard any talk about the Georgia tax credit being extended. We know that the Georgia General Assembly is not currently in session, but it will be starting on the 2nd Monday in January. Is there any way that extending the $1,800 tax credit is on their list of things to accomplish in 2010? If not, maybe we should go ahead and start contacting our legislators to try and put it on the agenda.
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Brenda Knight | Dec 23, 2009 | Reply
Yes, I had realized that when the federal credit was extended, it left the GA one still expiring 11/30/09.
I think we should all start a campaign to contact our GA representatives and senators. One of them will need to submit the bill and even though it might not get approved until nearly the end of April, it would still be nice.
Have you had clients who are confused about the GA credit? It appears that one must owe at least $600 in taxes (after withholding has been deducted) to be able to qualify. Most who are planning on claiming it will need to adjust their withholding during the year to make sure they qualify. This can get tricky because the first time buyers will also get a boost because they’ll have an interest deduction too.