The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 authorizes a tax credit of up to $8,000 for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009. This is great news. Interestingly, the law

… defines “first-time home buyer” as a buyer who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase. For married taxpayers, the law tests the homeownership history of both the home buyer and his/her spouse.

There is a website dedicated to this new recovery act. Lots of great information. The above quote is from the site’s FAQ page.There is a very extensive page about the other provisions of the Act, which seems to have much broader provisions than just the tax break. If you are considering buying a home, you might want to spend some time looking at the site.