So my brother is in a unique situation where he was married by common-law married in Colorado with his now ex wife of this year (2013) but his name was never on their house loan when they received the 2009 tax credit of $8000. They ended up moving out of the house when they needed to live in the house for at least three years to maintain the credit and now the government wants the credit back since the rule was broken.

His ex wife claims that he owes $4000 for the credit even though his name was never on the loan and the credit went into the house that her and her father owns. The catch is that my brother and her always filed jointly then they had their son in 2006. Also in the divorce decree it says that the house is hers and her father only and my brother owns none of it. Does he owe? Please help!

Can anyone help? Please!

aslongas your brother’s name was on the title/deed, that counts as home ownership even if his name was not on the loan; so aslongas his name is on the title and the house is going to be his primary residence for the next several years, then he is eligible assuming he meets other qualifications. The credit is available only to a person where it will be their primary residence.also as you said, they always filed jointly then they had their son in 2006. Filing their returns jointly means that by filing a joint tax return, both spouses report all their income, deductions, and credits on one tax return. Both spouses must sign the return, and both spouses accept full responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the information reported on the tax return. If the tax is unpaid, each spouse is held personally responsible for the payment. In other words, each spouse is held jointly and severally liable for the taxes filed on a jointly filed tax return.

The only people on the title/deed is his ex and her father. The house was their primary home but now she rents the house out and in the divorce decree she got the entire house. Do you still think he needs to pay since they filed jointly but he never owned any part of the house?

ok I see what you mean; as the wife remains in the home as one of the exclusive owners after the divorce it would appear his-ex,not he himself, is now obligated to repay the penalty since she still has the advantage of the ownership;your brother is no longer responsible for the penalty because the home was actually transferredto her in a divorce and that makes her responsible.