2007 Instructions for Form 8859 — District of Columbia First-Time Homebuyer Credit

General Instructions

Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code.

Purpose of Form

Use Form 8859 to claim the District of Columbia first-time homebuyer credit.

Who Can Claim the Credit

In general, you can claim the credit if:

If you constructed your main home, you are treated as having purchased it on the date you first occupied it.

Your main home is the one you live in most of the time. It can be a house, houseboat, housetrailer, cooperative apartment, condominium, or other type of residence.

However, you cannot claim the credit if any of the following apply.

Amount of the Credit

Generally, the credit is the smaller of:

The credit is phased out over a range that:

Basis Reduction

You must reduce your basis in the home purchased by the amount of the tentative credit shown on line 6.

Specific Instructions

Line 1

If two or more unmarried individuals buy a main home, they can allocate the credit among the individual owners in any manner they choose. The total amount allocated cannot exceed $5,000 (or the purchase price if it was less than $5,000).

Line 2

If you file Form 1040, your modified adjusted gross income is the amount from Form 1040, line 38, increased by the total of any:

If you file Form 1040NR, your modified adjusted gross income is the amount from Form 1040NR, line 36.

Line 9

If you are claiming the child tax credit, include on this line the amount from line 12 of the line 11 worksheet in Pub. 972.

Tip: If you are not claiming the child tax credit, you do not need Pub. 972.

Line 12

Any unused credit shown on line 12 can be carried forward until it has been used. You cannot carry the unused credit back to prior years.

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