What do you get the smart woman who already has everything she wants? $8,000 (or $6,500, if one of the things she already has is a house)!

These are the Obama Administration’s gifts to first-time and move-up homebuyers via the Extended 2009-2010 tax credit. This credit, the 3^rd (and likely final) extension of the first-time buyer’s credit originally implemented in 2008 has gotten better with every iteration, and this extension/expansion is no exception.

The 2008 version was a $7500 tax credit for first-time buyers earning under $75K per year, but it was also a loan that had to be repaid. Bleh.

The original 2009 version was an improvement, expanding the amount of the first-time buyer’s credit to $8,000 and, more importantly, removing the repayment requirement, rendering it a true tax credit. If you bought a home and closed escrow between January 1 and November 6, 2009, that’s your credit – click here for a fuller explanation of the credit itself, and here for a complete 2009 First-Time Buyer’s Credit Resource Center.

But the Expanded/Extended 2009-2010 credit trumps all previous versions, in several respects. At its core, it’s still an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers. However, it also offers:

• An extension of the $8,000 first timer credit through April 30, 2010 (the deadline to get into contract to buy your first home)
• A new, $6,500 credit for current or previous homeowners who buy a new or existing home by April 30, 2010 – so long as their current/previous home was their primary residence for at least 5 of the past 8 years, and
• Expanded income limits – you’re eligible for the whole credit if you make less than $125,000 a year (single buyers) or $225,000 (married couples). You might be eligible for a prorated credit (less than the full $8,000 or $6,500) if your income exceeds these limits, but if you make more than $145,000 (single) or $245,000 (married) – sorry, you’re out of luck (but you have other reasons to be happy, so get over yourself).

We’ve put together an entire 2009-2010 Tax Credit Resource Center, here.

The extended/expanded credit also imposes a new purchase price limit of $800,000 (i.e., you can’t get the credit if the home you’re buying costs more than that). The vast majority of people who fall into the program’s income guidelines aren’t buying homes more pricey than this anyway, so it’s not really a hardship.

Key Timelines & Deadlines.

• This credit doesn’t have to be repaid, so long as you live in your home for at least 3 years.
• To get it, you have to be in contract (meaning, have a purchase agreement signed by both buyer and seller) on or before April 30, 2010, and you must close escrow between November 7, 2009 and June 30, 2010.
• If you bought between January 1 and November 7, 2009, your credit is the 2009 Tax Credit, more here and here.
• If you bought in 2008, your credit is the 2008 Tax Credit, see here.

To collect the credit,you have a couple of options:

• If you close escrow before December 31, 2009, you can claim it on your 2009 tax return.
• If you close escrow after you’ve filed your 2009 tax return, you can file an amended 2009 return, or you can claim it on your 2010 tax return – your choice.
• Whenever you claim it, you need to include documentation of your purchase (like your HUD-1 settlement statement) and Form 5405 with that return.

If you’re just thinking about whether you might be able to qualify for the new tax credit, visit our 2009-2010 Tax Credit Resource Center, here.