http://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/If_I_cant_buy_a_house_by_myself_and_need_my_sister-142422she's not interested in buyin a house but lives with me and is willin to cosign with me... do we get the tax credit in half? or only one person claims it? if so who ? when doing incometaxes for the mortgage interest and property tax, do we have to split in half or can just one claim it and the other get the standard deduction? thank youen-ushttp://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Both_Buyer_And_Seller-Benton_County_OR-580001/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Both_Buyer_And_Seller-Benton_County_OR-580001/Harry N, You may wish to review the information provided by the IRS for the public. http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id%3D187935,00.html Expanded Tax Break Available for 2009 First-Time Homebuyers http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204672,00.html Tax Form.... http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5405.pdf Good hunting, DunesMon, 06 Jul 2009 09:50:01 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Portsmouth_NH-223223/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Portsmouth_NH-223223/Hi Harry- That's a nice sister. If she's willing to be on the mortgage note, but not on the Title, even better for you. That way, legally, if something were to happen or there was an argument, it is only your name on the Deed; it's 100% yours. Even though the obligation to pay would be on both of you. Good answers below. If you don't have an accountant and you'd like to speak with one, please let me know. I don't really like to give tax advice to people unless I can help it :) . If you need any help with a preapproval letter, contact me anytime. Thanks and good luck, Ken L.Mon, 06 Jul 2009 08:37:54 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Minneapolis_MN-231916/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Minneapolis_MN-231916/Assuming both of you qualify for the tax credit, you can split the credit any way you want. This can be good if one person has a higher tax liability or if one person has income that exceeds the income cap.Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:13:31 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-New_Hampshire-132402/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-New_Hampshire-132402/Harry, If neither of you has owned your principal residence in the last 3 years, you are most likely eligible to share the deduction. Remember that there are still income limits (75K for single persons/$150K for married couples). Great question & answer section here: http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/2009/faq.phpThu, 02 Jul 2009 20:29:54 -0700