Tuesday, October 20, 2009

First-Time Home Buyer Credit Scams

I am always amazed at the amount of energy scammers put into developing new ways to cheat people out of their money. And the person they are cheating is YOU.

In 2008, the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit was passed. This allowed first-time homeowners to claim a tax credit on their federal tax return. There are specific requirements the buyer must meet in order to claim this credit. (See article for details.)

To date, the IRS has identified 167 distinct "criminal schemes," involving over 100,000 unjustified or fraudulent claims.

Why should you be concerned? First, your money is being spent trying to catch these crooks. Second, these criminals are not paying their fair share of taxes, so you have to pay more to compensate. And third, the government is considering extending this tax credit. But this extension is now in jeopardy because of these thieves.

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