Banter

Why wait? Isn't having your money to gain interest or to put into long term investments better than letting the government hold onto it?

I searched for and found other posts on this topic, but have seen conflicting stuff on the internet. Let's say someone filed their 2008 federal tax return last month (feb 2009) and gets a 2,000 refund. Now that person purchases a 200,000 house in May 2009 and is a first time home buyer that qualifies for the full 8,000 credit. Can this person now file an amended 2008 return in June 2009 and get an additional 8,000 for a total of 10,000 refund for tax year 2008? If so, can this 8,000 credit be negotiated as part of your down payment before closing on the house? (probably not i guess) Thanks!

Thanks TAXBILLY, I figured that'd be too good to be true. In a way it's a relief to not file a 1040X.

I worked for ATX for 10 years, so I always do my taxes. (but I'm no tax professional, I just managed software teams!) I left ATX in early 2007 and work for a company that is 300+ miles away. I work from home for this company but they have allocated office space for me for those occasions where I travel to the home office. I usually go there to keep networked with people, go to team building exercises, on-site training, focused planning sessions, etc... For 2007 I was there over half the time. For 2008 I was there less than half the time. The question is, can I deduct the mileage, tolls and hotel fees that I did not get reimbursed for? In the last half of 2008 they started reimbursing these expenses for me. I consider my home the principal location since I work from home more than half the time and I'm obviously not going to commute 600+ miles a day for work. Can I apply for this deduction on my 2007 & 2008 returns using Sch A and 2106? If so, I need to submit a 1040X for my 2007 return. Do I use the 2007 version of this form or do I use the 2008 version of this form? I assume the 2007 version. If I submit the 2007 1040X, do I figure my 2008 return based on the 2007 1040X, or should I wait for the IRS to process the amended return before preparing the 2008 return? Thanks everyone. I hope you all have a great Tax & New Year! Jason Ennis