Question:
Kevin recently divorced, and as part of the dissolution settlement, ended up with a mobile home. He wanted to know if he qualified for the tax credit since he’s never owned a home, and also wanted to know if mobile homes, or manufactured housing, were covered by the tax credit if they don’t have a permanent foundation.

Answer:
Yes, manufactured and modular housing are both covered by the first time home buyer tax credit, as long as they are being used as a primary residence. According to the IRS, you can even use the credit on a manufactured home if you’re renting the land it sits on.

Again, the credit is for 10% of the purchase price, up to $8000. So if you buy a manufactured home for less than $80,000 — you’ll only be able to claim 10% of that. For example, if the home costs you $65,000 you’re only going to be able to claim $6500 for the tax credit.

However, in your case, you won’t be able to claim the credit at all, because you didn’t actually buy the house. Since you received it as part of a settlement and didn’t pay any money for the house, you don’t get to take the credit.

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Financing, Homebuyer, Housing Market, Mortgages