On Friday, November 6, 2009, President Obama signed the extension/expansion of the first-time home-buyer tax credit. Under the old plan, the $8,000 tax credit was set to expire at midnight on November 30, 2009. The revised extension pushes this deadline out until June 30, 2010. Home-buyers must be in a contract to purchase a home by April 30, 2010 and then they have 60 days to close on the home.
In order to assist a wider group of home-buyers, the tax credit was expanded to include buyers earning up to $125,000 annually (if filing single) or up to $225,000 if filing taxes as a married couple. This tax credit not only for first-time buyers, but now includes folks that have owned and occupied a home for at least five of the past eight years. "Move-Uppers" can claim a $6,500 tax credit if they close on the purchase of a new home by June 30, 2010.
There is a cap on the purchase price of a home this time: the home must be purchased for $800,000 or less if the buyer wants to receive the tax credit. More information can be found at CNN Money and there's a really good FAQ section and explanation at the REALTOR webite (click FAQ). The IRS has posted an article about the expanded tax break. A really good FAQ was published by the National Association of Realtors: Homebuyer Tax Credit Changes and they also posted a comparison of the changes in the Homebuyer Tax Credit.