Amend a 2009 / File a 2010 Return for Homebuyer Credit

Taxpayers who qualify for the first-time homebuyer credit or the long-time resident homebuyer credit who buy a home in 2010 don't have to wait to claim the credit when filing their 2010 returns. They can instead amend their 2009 tax returns to claim the credit and receive it sooner.

Buyers who purchased in 2009 and didn't claim the credit on their 2009 returns can also amend those returns to get the credit.  Recently we have been asked which documents our clients must prepare in order to claim the credit on either an original 2009 return or on an amended 2009 return:

First-time homebuyer

• A copy of the settlement statement showing all parties' names and signatures, property address, sales price, and date of purchase. Normally, this is the properly executed Form HUD-1, Settlement Statement.
   
• For mobile home purchasers who are unable to get a settlement statement, a copy of the executed retail sales contract showing all parties' names and signatures, property address, purchase price and date of purchase.


• For a newly constructed home where a settlement statement is not available, a copy of the certificate of occupancy showing the owner’s name, property address and date of the certificate.

Long-time residents

Long-time homebuyers claiming the credit for buying a new principal residence must show that they lived in their old homes for a five-consecutive-year period during the eight-year period ending on the purchase date of the new home. The IRS has stepped up compliance checks involving the homebuyer credit, and it encourages homebuyers claiming this part of the credit to avoid refund delays by attaching documentation covering the five-consecutive-year period:   

• Form 1098, Mortgage Interest Statement, or substitute mortgage interest statements,


• Property tax records or


• Homeowner’s insurance records.

The IRS says it's not necessary to have five years of the same documentation. Any combination of these documents verifying that you owned and lived in your home as a principal residence for at least five consecutive years is acceptable.

For example, suppose you owned and lived in your previous home from Nov. 1, 2004, to Oct. 31, 2009. You could send a copy of Form 1098 showing the mortgage interest you paid for the part of 2004 during which you owned and lived in the home, as well as the Form 1098s for 2005, 2006 and 2007, proof of homeowners insurance  for 2008 and a property tax statement for the part of 2009 when you owned and lived in the home.