$15,000 Tax Credit for Home Buyers

Senate’s Tax Credit Favors Higher-Income Homebuyers

 

By Ryan J. Donmoyer

Feb. 7 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Senate is working to boost home purchases among six-figure-income households, turning away from Bush administration policies that helped fuel a property bubble.

By replacing a $7,500 tax credit for first-time homebuyers earning less than $150,000 with a $15,000 break for all income groups as part of the economic stimulus package, senators are encouraging purchases by higher-income households with a reduced risk of default.

A sponsor of the measure, Republican Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia, said the credit is aimed at helping restart the stalled housing market. It would do so without the “far too loosey-goosey” underwriting standards of recent years that spurred an explosion of defaults by unqualified borrowers, he said.

“By doing it the way we did, people making $120,000 are more likely to be motivated to buy a house,” Isakson said.

Unlike the current law, the $35.5 billion provision wouldn’t be restricted to first-time homebuyers. It also would end homebuyers’ ability to claim the full credit if it exceeds the amount they owe in taxes.

The effect would be to wipe out the $15,000 of income tax a family of four earning about $122,000 would otherwise owe this year if they bought a house. A family earning half that amount would get about $2,300 less in tax benefits for buying a home than they would under current law.