H1(485 pending) first time home buyer benefits 2009

[immmj]

Here is the situation. My wife will come here 2nd half of 2009 on H4. My own salary is more than 75K and less than 150K. If I go ahead buy a house(never own a house before) and file tax jointly late this year. Can I still get $8K tax credit with jointly filing? Thank you very much

[hiralal]

I think you will get the credit but consult a accountant to be sure. (you need to read the fine print regarding who gets the credit and whether visa status is an issue ..the only problem that I see is that if your wife won't have a SSN ..then what happens)
where are you planning to buy ? since home prices are still falling, I guess a good time to look would be oct / nov ...but still most reports say prices will be stagnant or fall for a long long time

[immmj]

For SSN, she can file W-7 to get ITIN in order to file tax. My concern is that, if she stays here for less than 5 months in FY2009 (this is the first she come to US), she is considered as non-resident on federal return. It is claimed that only resident can claim this benefits...


I think you will get the credit but consult a accountant to be sure. (you need to read the fine print regarding who gets the credit and whether visa status is an issue ..the only problem that I see is that if your wife won't have a SSN ..then what happens)
where are you planning to buy ? since home prices are still falling, I guess a good time to look would be oct / nov ...but still most reports say prices will be stagnant or fall for a long long time

[hiralal]

For SSN, she can file W-7 to get ITIN in order to file tax. My concern is that, if she stays here for less than 5 months in FY2009 (this is the first she come to US), she is considered as non-resident on federal return. It is claimed that only resident can claim this benefits...
yes that is what I meant ... see what happened in the stimulus checks for taxpayers with spouses (who had TIN #) ..they did not get checks even for the tax payer !!!
and hence my question ..where are you planning to buy a house (or where do you reside currently ?).
Meredith Whitney even went so far to say that house prices will fall another 20 - 30% (when you take inflation into account) ..so don't get lured by home buyer credit only !! (and since you are on H1 ..it is all the more risky)

[morchu]

Why do you want to "claim" your wife as non-resident in tax return. There is no additional benefit by that. Probably claiming an h4 as "resident" gives you more tax benefits. And I dont think "1040" "mandates" you to claim her as "non-resident" for this reason.

-Morchu

For SSN, she can file W-7 to get ITIN in order to file tax. My concern is that, if she stays here for less than 5 months in FY2009 (this is the first she come to US), she is considered as non-resident on federal return. It is claimed that only resident can claim this benefits...

[Marphad]

yes that is what I meant ... see what happened in the stimulus checks for taxpayers with spouses (who had TIN #) ..they did not get checks even for the tax payer !!!
and hence my question ..where are you planning to buy a house (or where do you reside currently ?).
Meredith Whitney even went so far to say that house prices will fall another 20 - 30% (when you take inflation into account) ..so don't get lured by home buyer credit only !! (and since you are on H1 ..it is all the more risky)

Oye Hiralall, profile fill kar munde.