New GAO Report on Homebuyer Tax Credits; 38k+ Oregon Families Got $278+ Million.

Thanks to NLIHC tweet, GAO report is HERE. 

Report includes details on three different programs, with lots of state data and rankings. Three programs were:

1. The Housing Act version provided taxpayers a refundable tax credit, meaning it is paid even if there is no tax liability or if the credit exceeds any tax due, equal to 10 percent of the purchase price of a home, up to a maximum of $7,500. Taxpayers must repay the credit over 15 years beginning in the 2011 filing season.
2. The Recovery Act version provided taxpayers a refundable tax credit equal to 10 percent of the purchase price of a home, but increased the maximum credit to $8,000 with a waiver of the repayment provision for purchases in 2009. However, taxpayers are still required to repay the credit if the home is resold or ceases to be the primary residence of the taxpayer within 3 years. 
3. The Assistance Act version extended the time frame in which home buyers could claim the Recovery Act version of the credit from November 30, 2009, to April 30, 2010, and included several modifications, such as allowing certain long-term homeowners purchasing new homes to claim a tax credit up to $6,500.

Oddly, I did NOT find a state table that combined totals for all three acts, so I constructed one with my calculations HERE. (Legal sized to accommodate all the columns).

Table shows that

• There were 38,525 Oregon families who used one of the tax credit programs; the claims total was $278,672,100.
• The biggest single program was the Recovery Act first time home buyer program with 19,531 Oregon families claiming $145,667,245.

Total revenue losses to federal government through 2019 are estimated at $22 billion.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.