If your filing status was Married Filing Joint when you claimed the First-Time Homebuyer Credit, but you are now divorced or separated, please review the information below. The Line 3e instructions pertain to you if you are the spouse who transferred the home to your spouse or ex-spouse. The Line 4 instructions pertain to you if you are the spouse to whom the home was transferred by your spouse or ex-spouse.

Per IRS Instructions for Form 5405 Repayment of the First-Time Homebuyer Credit, page 2:

Line 3e. Check the box on line 3e if you meet either of the following conditions.

• You transferred the home to your spouse.
• You and your spouse divorced and you transferred the home to your ex-spouse as part of the divorce settlement. Include the full name of your ex-spouse in the space provided.

Page 3:

Line 4. If you claimed the credit on a joint return but your spouse died, enter one-half of the credit you claimed. The remaining half (that is, your spouse's half) doesn't have to be repaid. If you and your spouse claimed the credit and the home was later transferred to you by your spouse (or ex-spouse as part of a divorce settlement), enter the total credit claimed by both you and your spouse (or ex-spouse).

To access Form 5405 in the TaxAct program, go to our Form 5405 - Repayment of 2008 Credit FAQ.

If you are the spouse who transferred the home:
Enter the date the home ceased to be your main home, then continue through the Q&A until you reach the screen titled Homebuyer Credit Repayment - Type of Disposal. Select The home was transferred to my spouse (or ex-spouse as part of a divorce settlement), enter the The full name of my ex-spouse is, then click Continue. You will then see a screen explaining that no repayment of the credit is necessary.

If you are the spouse to whom the home was transferred:
Complete the entries on the screens with the total amounts claimed (and paid) in prior years by both spouses.

If you are the surviving spouse:
Complete the entries on the screens as instructed. The amount calculated to be repaid will appear on Line 10 of Schedule 2 (Form 1040) Additional Taxes, if applicable. This will either reduce the refund on the return (the refund may become an amount due, depending on the repayment amount) or increase the amount due.

Note that any link in the information above is updated each year automatically and will take you to the most recent version of the webpage or document at the time it is accessed.