First let me start by saying that it makes me sick that the government is going to reward people for being stupid. I would never support a law that makes stupid illegal (for fear of jailtime), but I don't like laws that forgive it so damned easily. Anywho this bill does have some things in it that are particularly awesome for me. The first is a $7500 tax credit for first time home buyers. It is retroactive to April 2008. I certainly will enjoy that as I normally end up paying some Federal taxes every year. There is a catch though, the "credit" acts as an interest free loan and must be paid back in equal installments over 15 years. It is forgiven if you sell your house at a loss, and is due from the proceeds of a sale in which you make a profit. The other awesome thing is that there is an additional $1,000 plopped on the standard deduction of home owners who itemize. This year that is super sweet because I am pretty sure I won't have quite enough to itemize because we bought our house later in the year. Link
