Something to be aware of if you received the $8,000 tax credit.

The two subsequent homebuyer credit programs enacted by Congress — $8,000 for first-time purchasers and $6,500 for repeat buyers — did not require repayments. But both programs came with strict rules that experts believe will add to revenues collected by the IRS during the years 2011 through 2013.


For instance, Congress required that credits claimed under the $8,000 and $6,500 legislation be repaid if the owners do not continually use their house as a principal residence for 36 months after the purchase. Say you took the $8,000 credit on your 2009 federal tax filing but then decided to sell the house or turn it into a rental investment in 2011. Guess what? Ka-ching! You owe the government $8,000 the day you make that move — and the IRS says it has increasingly sophisticated audit programs to detect such transactions and to sniff out frauds and other rule violations requiring paybacks and even penalties.

Here's a link to the entire story from the LA Times:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-harney-20110123,0,69868.story?track=rss