The IRS has released the helpful video clip below which explains the extension of the deadline to close and what steps you need to take in order to obtain the credit.
If you want to learn about how the homebuyer tax credit closing extension passed, watched this informational video.
On Wednesday, the Senate approved legislation which allows home buyers (first-time home buyers and home buyers purchasing home for primary residence) that signed contracts by April 30 to close by September 30 in order to still be eligible for the tax credit. The tax credit is $8,000 for first time home buyers and $6,500 for home buyers purchasing a home as their new primary residence. Congress has sent the bill to President Obama.
Reuters, Senate Agrees to Extend Home Tax Credit
New York Times, Home Buyers’ Tax Credit Extended
In response to a question in an interview with the Wall Street Journal regarding ‘MacGruber’s’ (Will Forte) specific hairstyle and look, Will Forte responded:
We made the movie in Albuquerque, so part of the [tax break] deal is that you’re supposed to use a largely New Mexican crew. But the [MacGruber] wig is an unruly little creation, so Betty Rogers, who’s the head of the hair department at SNL, came to make sure it was tamed every day. She is so good at what she does. So it was basically her and a bunch of great people from New Mexico.
The “tax break” that Forte is referring to “Movie Production Incentive (MPI)” which is in the form of a tax credit. In New Mexico, productions including feature films receive a 25% tax rebate on “direct production expenditures” (an expenditure subject to tax in New Mexico). Further, paying New Mexico residents qualifies as a direct production expenditure subject to the tax rebate.
Below is an animated map of states that currently have similar MPIs. Click the map to enlarge it and see all the states that have an MPI. Click here for a special report from Tax Foundation regarding MPIs.
Alright. Enough about tax. Here is a clip of one of my favorite ‘MacGruber’ SNL skits. It features Jonah Hill who ‘MacGruber’ accuses of talking “smack” about him to Hill’s friends. MacGruber starts lashing out at him in a paint factory that is about to explode. I think you all know what happens next. Enjoy!
This week, the Internal Revenue Service began mailing postcards to more than four million small businesses and tax-exempt organizations. The purpose of the postcards are to make them aware of the benefits of the recently-enacted small business health care tax credit.
The credit, which takes effect this year, is designed to encourage small employers to offer health insurance coverage for the first time or maintain coverage they already have. It is included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which was approved by Congress last month.
As described in the news release the credit is available “for tax years 2010 to 2013, the maximum credit is 35 percent of premiums paid by eligible small business employers and 25 percent of premiums paid by eligible employers that are tax-exempt organizations. The maximum credit goes to smaller employers — those with 10 or fewer full-time equivalent (FTE) employees — paying annual average wages of $25,000 or less. Because the eligibility rules are based in part on the number of FTEs, not the number of employees, businesses that use part-time help may qualify even if they employ more than 25 individuals. The credit is completely phased out for employers that have 25 FTEs or more or that pay average wages of $50,000 per year or more.”
Eligible small businesses can claim the credit as part of the general business credit starting with the 2010 income tax return they file in 2011. For tax-exempt organizations, the IRS will provide further information on how to claim the credit.
Today the 
House passed legislation giving companies that hire the jobless a temporary payroll tax break. The $35 Billion bill comprises of $15 billion in tax cuts and subsidies for infrastructure bonds issued by local governments and $20 billion in transportation money. The tax portion of the bill provides an exemption for business hiring the unemployed from the 6.2 percent Social Security payroll tax through December and gives an additional $1,000 credit if new workers remain on the job for a full year. The Social Security trust fund would be reimbursed for the lost revenue.
