The First-Time Buyer Tax Credits From 2008 to 2010

No. The federal first-time homebuyer tax credit that many people call the "Obama credit" applied to homes bought from 2008 to 2010 and is no longer available for new purchases. It was written into Section 36 of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. 36). If you are buying in Texas today, the help available is different: state down payment assistance and Mortgage Credit Certificates through TSAHC and TDHCA, plus loan programs designed for smaller down payments. If you claimed the old credit, the IRS has a look-up tool to check any repayment balance (IRS look-up).

What the old credit was

• Amount. Under Section 36, 10 percent of the purchase price, up to a dollar cap that was raised to $8,000 for later purchases. A separate credit of up to $6,500 applied to certain long-time residents buying a new principal residence.
• Who qualified. A "first-time homebuyer" meant someone who, with a spouse if married, had no ownership interest in a principal residence during the three years before the purchase.
• Limits. The statute set an income phase-out, a purchase price limit of $800,000 for the later version, an age requirement, and a ban on buying from related persons.
• Timing. It covered purchases in a window that started in April 2008 and, after extensions, closed in 2010, with later dates for certain service members.

Repayment

For homes bought in 2008, the credit generally worked like an interest-free loan repaid over 15 years, at 6⅔ percent of the credit per year, under Section 36(f). For later purchases, repayment generally applied only if the home stopped being your main home within 36 months. Selling the home or no longer living there can accelerate repayment, limited in some cases by the gain on sale. The IRS account look-up shows what you claimed and what remains (IRS). Talk with a tax professional about your own return.

What Texas buyers can use today

• Mortgage Credit Certificates. A state-issued certificate that can provide a federal tax credit for part of your mortgage interest each year, through TSAHC or TDHCA programs, with their own eligibility rules. See Texas Mortgage Credit Certificates.
• Down payment assistance. TSAHC and TDHCA offer assistance in different forms, subject to income limits, purchase price limits, funding and lender participation (TSAHC; TDHCA). See Texas down payment assistance.
• Low down payment loans. FHA, VA, USDA and conventional programs such as HomeReady and Home Possible.

"First-time homebuyer" is defined by each program, often with a three-year lookback similar to the old credit. See who counts as a first-time homebuyer.

What about new proposals?

From time to time, new federal homebuyer credits are proposed in Congress or on the campaign trail. A proposal is not law. Until a credit is enacted and the IRS publishes guidance, do not plan a purchase around it.

Fictional example

Fictional example: a Fort Worth buyer searches for the "$8,000 first-time buyer credit" and assumes it will cover closing costs. The credit ended in 2010. Instead, the buyer checks TSAHC and TDHCA program eligibility for down payment assistance and an MCC, and compares FHA and conventional options. The buyer's parent, who bought a home in 2008 and used the old credit, uses the IRS look-up to confirm the repayment status.

Common mistakes

• Believing the old credit is still available.
• Confusing a tax credit with a grant at closing. A tax credit reduces tax owed; it does not pay closing costs.
• Selling a home bought with the 2008 credit without checking the repayment balance.

Next step

If you are a first-time buyer in Texas, I can check which current state programs and loan options you may qualify for. Book a call, or start an application.

Related questions

• Who counts as a first-time homebuyer in Texas?
• Texas down payment assistance
• Texas Mortgage Credit Certificates

Sources

Links checked Oct 21, 2026.

• 26 U.S.C. 36, First-time homebuyer credit (current U.S. Code): https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/36
• IRS, First-Time Homebuyer Credit Account Look-up (retrieved Oct 21, 2026): https://www.irs.gov/individuals/first-time-homebuyer-credit-account-look-up
• TSAHC, Homebuyer programs (retrieved Oct 21, 2026): https://www.tsahc.org/homebuyers-renters/homebuyer-programs
• TDHCA, Texas Homebuyer Program overview (retrieved Oct 21, 2026): https://welcomehome.tdhca.texas.gov/programs

About the author: McKade Lively, NMLS 2704474, American Pacific Mortgage Corporation dba True North Home Loans, NMLS 1850.

Equal Housing Opportunity.

Last reviewed: Oct 2026

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