With the recent talk of raising the first-time homebuyer credit, one important question is still open: why are the current checks taking so long to go through? No one expects the tax credit to be instantaneous, and of course the IRS will need to validate each claim. But reports of delayed tax credits are pouring in — and when the tax credit is a key part of financing a new home, this has people nervous.
- One online commenter complained of a 12-week wait for the check, which hadn’t arrived yet.
- Other commenters are asking when the check will arrive — the answers indicate that it takes ten to twelve weeks, but there’s lots of confusion nonetheless.
- Other estimates for how long the credit takes imply a wait of 12-16 weeks.
- Some people are even less lucky. One of them had to wait fourteen weeks — to find out that he needed to send the IRS more information.
Some people are in no mood to wait for the check. Several states have found a way around this: HUD is starting to lend people money backed by the tax credits, for certain mortgages. And several states have taken matters into their own hands: here is a list of states that lend new homeowners money to tide them over until the tax credit arrives. For many new home buyers, this can be a good way to stay afloat, but in most cases, it’s best not to rely on that tax credit as the only way to close a new home purchase.
How about 30 weeks? This is ridiculous…..and we are basically getting the same answers….it’s being audited, and they need to research some more. Isn’t there something that can be done about this? I realize this is the government but come on!!
Update from 2/25/10 posting: Called today and the IRS said my amended 2008 return is being audited for the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit. The rep was reluctant in giving me a timeframe on when I should receive the letter, but eventually he said in 2 weeks. I have a feeling I will be waiting longer than that.
Also, you’d figure the President would use this time to channel funds from other services, say military budget, toward creating new jobs and hiring extra people to handle the influx of returns the government was well aware they were going to receive! They warned about delays so much you’d think they were actually training new hires to deal with it. Apparently not.
My husband and I filed by mail our 2009 taxes (with home buyer credit) on February 1st. It has been a month and according to the IRS they have no information about our taxes – they can’t even tell us that they have been received. The only information is that it can take ‘up to 6 weeks to process’. Really? I would rather they be HONEST and say it could take 6 months! I agree with earlier posts: why aren’t news reporters putting pressure on getting answers?
I filed my FTHBTC with my 2009 tax returns on Feb. 4th 2010 with a copy of the settlement statement. Does anyone know about how long it will be if I did not amend and just filed per usual??? Any help would be GREAT!!! Thank you!