FIRSTTIME HOMEBUYER TAX CREDIT

A refundable tax credit made available to Americans purchasing their first home. The first-time homebuyer tax credit originally applied to home purchases made by qualified first-time buyers between April 9, 2008, and July 1, 2009. However, the Obama administration extended the original time frame requiring homeowners to have a signed sales contract until May 1, 2010, and gave them until the end of June, 2010, to close the transaction.

The original tax credit implemented a credit of 10% of the home's purchase price, up to $7,500, which had to be repaid over 15 years in equal installments. However, the expanded version of the tax credit increased the maximum to $8,000 and removed the repayment requirement altogether, as long as the buyer stayed in the home for at least three years.