New Jersey Approves 2010 Home Buyer Tax Credit
New Jersey Approves 2010 Home Buyer Tax Credit
On Thursday, the New Jersey Assembly voted for and approved a bill, A-1678, that will establish the New Jersey Homebuyer Tax Credit Program under the state gross income tax and allocate $100 million worth of refundable tax credits to new homebuyers in New Jersey this year. New Jersey homebuyers will receive these tax credits on a first come-first serve basis and will amount to either $15,000 or 5% of the home’s selling price, whichever happens to be less. There will be no income limits to be eligible for the 2010 home buyer credit, which will be divided in equal amounts and distributed to mortgage holders over a period of three taxable consecutive years, although taxpayers will be required to use the home as their principal residence for the three-year period after the date of the purchase.
The bill, which was crafted by the New Jersey Builders Association and sponsored by Senator Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen) and Assemblyman Lou Greenfield (D-Camden), reserves three quarters, or $75,000, of the $100,000 New Jersey tax credit for purchasers of brand new houses and one quarter, or $25,000, for purchasers of existing, previously occupied houses. Over the past few years, Tim Touhey, the chief executive officer of the New Jersey Builders Association, has led the NJBA in being more aggressive in their advocation of issues relating to the housing market.
With the passing of A-1678 by a vote of 66 to 8 with three abstentations, New Jersey has joined other states, municipalities, and builders in offering major incentives for new homebuyers to compensate for the expiration of the federal tax credit on April 30. Now the bill has been referred to the state Senate for a final vote; according to the New Jersey legislature, this may occur as early as the June 10 session.