Longtime Homebuyer Tax Credit

Part of a program to pump up the dreadful housing market in the wake of the 2007-2008 financial crisis, the longtime homebuyer credit provided a tax credit for people who bought new homes after living in a previous home for a long time prior.

It applied to homeowners who had used their house as a main residence for five of the eight years before buying a new place. So...if you had lived in one house for a long time, and then sold it to get another, you received a one-time tax credit.

The amount of the credit totaled $6,500. In order to be eligible, the new home had to be purchased before June 30, 2010.