The White House and Congress agreed to give first-time home buyers a tax credit for 10 percent of the value of a home, up to a maximum of $8,000. The tax credit is part of the $787.2 billion economic stimulus plan, which President Barack Obama is expected to sign early this week. The tax credit was scaled back from an earlier Senate proposal of $15,000.
The tax credit will apply only to first-time home buyers who purchase a home from the start of 2009 to the end of November 2009. The credit begins phasing out for couples with incomes above $150,000 and individuals with incomes above $75,000. Buyers will have to repay the credit if they sell their home within three years.
