About 3,900 locals could miss out on home tax credit

Globe Staff

Up to 3,930 Massachusetts home buyers could lose the advantage of a tax credit on a pending home purchase if Congress fails to pass an extension to the home buyer tax credit closing deadline of June 30, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors said in a press release.

Nationwide, up to 180,000 home buyers across the country would lose out on the tax credit, the National Association of Realtors has estimated.

As a recent Globe story noted, the temporary federal tax provision could provide first-time home buyers up to an $8,000 credit; it also enabled some current home owners to qualify for up to $6,500 if they decided to buy a new home. To qualify for the credits, all buyers must have signed a contract on a property by April 30 and complete the deal by June 30.

“Home buyers who previously met all the requirements of the tax credit are in serious risk of not being able to complete the purchase of their homes by the June 30 deadline because they find themselves in a logjam with lenders, inspection companies or are facing other unexpected delays," Massachusetts Association of Realtors president Kevin Sears said in a statement. 

The association said it is proposing that the home buyer tax credit closing deadline be extended an additional 90 days.