Don't forget that if you want to qualify for the first time homebuyer tax credit of $8000 or move up credit of $6500, you need to have a purchase agreement written by April 30, 2010. You do not need to close until June 30th, but the contract must be accepted by April 30th.
There is another exception to the deadline. If you are a qualified service member that is on a period of extended duty, these dates are extended for one year. To qualify as a service member, you must be a member of the uniformed services of the US military, a member of the Foreign Service of the US or an employee of the intelligence community.
The "official extended duty" is defined as any period of extended duty outside of the United States for at least 90 days during the period beginning after December 31, 2008 and ending before May 1, 2010. For these buyers the tax credit is extended to binding sales contracts written by April 30, 2o11 and closed by June 30, 2011.
For most buyers you will not need to repay the tax credit, however if you sell the home within 3 years of the initial purchase, you will have to pay the credit back. The exception to this is for qualified service members that sell a home due to official extended duty. If the service member has to move to due new orders, they are exempt from the recapture rule.
