As a home buyer in today’s real estate market, would you like to pay less
in taxes each year? If your answer is yes, then read on.
There is a program out there that can do just that, if you qualify. One of the unique and not so well known programs is called the Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) First Snow
.
If you qualify and get into this program, you are able to save approximately 15% of the total mortgage interest you pay each year, for the life of the loan. For example, if you have recently purchased a home, and your total mortgage interest comes out to $10,000 for the first year, under the MCC program, you will get back $1,500 at the end of the tax year, as a tax credit.
Of course, there are the general restrictions for this program, let’s go over the main ones:
1. Eligible applicant has to be 18 years or older, US Citizen or Resident Alien (must have Greencard), no H-1B (working VISAS not eligible)
2. May not have owned or have any interest in a property (like co-signing) in the last 3 years
3. Property has to be Owner Occupied & your Primary Residence, must be a Purchase Transaction Only
4. Eligible Property includes a Condominium, PUD (Planned Unit Development)/Townhouse, and Single Family Home, cannot apply this towards a duplex, triplex, or 4 plex, no apartment complexes
5. Income Limitation (Ex. For Santa Clara County, $97,800 for 2 persons – Effective February 6, 2009)
… and more (contact us The Net 2.0 rip to learn more about the restrictions and if you qualify, see below).
In order for the buyer to get into the MCC program, you must use a MCC participating Lender, thus not all lenders can do this. Finding the right one is key, I have worked with lenders who have no knowledge of this program, causing you as a potential buyer to lose out on this substantial tax savings.
This program can only be used together with a 30 year fixed loan, however, there can be exceptions depending on the county.
The great thing about the MCC program is that if you do qualify, the 15% you get back from the total mortgage interest paid each year, you never have to pay back, as long as you meet the restrictions. Remember a tax credit means, say you get a tax credit of $100, and your total tax liability is $1,000 at the end of the year, then you only have to pay $900 in taxes. A tax credit directly reduces your total tax liability at the end of the tax year.
There is a catch, when you speak to someone that knows how to do this program and apply for the MCC, there will be a non-refundable application fee, which varies depending on the county, (For Example, Santa Clara County is $200 and Alameda County is $500).
Remember, since the program is allocated these funds at the beginning of every year, it’s a first come first serve basis – usually by June, the money is already used up and there will be no money left for eligible Buyers in the 2nd half of the year.
Please click here for more information about the Santa Clara County MCC program.
Other Counties participate in the MCC program as well, if you are interested in learning more about the MCC program, feel free to contact us
Eat Your Heart Out aka Skinned Alive download
for more information.
Enjoy this post? Get more like it by subscribing to our blog!
![View Alex Wang info [at] AlexWangHomes.com's profile on LinkedIn](http://www.linkedin.com/img/webpromo/btn_viewmy_120x33.gif){kind=small}
