I recently spoke about the Home Renovation Tax Credit (HRTC) which is a tax credit for home renovation expenses within January 27th 2009 and February 1st 2010. Well today I will touch upon the Home Buyers’ Tax Credit (HBTC) which began for 2009 and any subsequent years.The HBTC is a new non refundable tax credit which is based on the amount of $5,000 for certain home buyers that acquire a qualifying home after January 27th 2009.
Now the new HBTC is calculated by taking the lowest personal tax income rate for the year and multiplying it by $5,000. For 2009, the lowest personal tax income rate is 15% so the credit for 2009 would be $750.
To qualify for the HBTC you need to have a qualifying home and neither you nor your spouse owned or lived in another home in the year of purchase or any of the 4 preceding years.
A qualifying home would be a house located in Canada. This includes existing homes or homes being constructed right now; whether it is semi-detached, townhouses, condominium units, etc.
In any situation when you purchase a home, whether it is with your spouse or with a friend, the total HBTC cannot exceed $750.
The HBTC is a great tax credit that is available for you and to claim it, you just need to fill out the necessary line that will be on your personal income tax return.
For anyone who is buying a home now or in the years to come, just keep in mind you can get a little bit of money back this year. It might not come up to much but in all reality of it, the $750 could possibly pay a bill or two in your new home.
When the time comes and you do buy a home, just remember you can earn some money back with the HBTC and depending on the lowest personal tax income you might be able to earn more in the years to come.
Nelson Goulart
Broke of Record with Signature Service GMAC Real Estate
www.ssgmac.ca
