SS#2/HCS/HB 1796 - This act modifies several provisions relating to the process for the conveyance of real estate. This act establishes the First-Time Home Buyer Savings Account Act. Beginning January 1, 2019, any individual may open a savings account and designate the account as a first-time home buyer savings account to be used to pay or reimburse a qualified beneficiary's eligible expenses, as defined in the act.
This act also creates an income tax deduction for taxpayers who make contributions to such savings account. The deduction shall be in an amount of fifty percent of the taxpayer's contribution to the account. The deduction shall not exceed the taxpayer's Missouri adjusted gross income for the tax year the deduction is claimed, and shall not exceed $800 or $1,600 for married individuals filing jointly. Each taxpayer claiming the deduction shall file an affidavit with the income tax return verifying the amount of their contributions.
An account holder shall designate a beneficiary of the account no later than April 15 of the year following the tax year in which the account was opened.
The maximum amount an individual may contribute to an account in a single tax year is $1,600 for an individual or $3,200 for a couple filing a joint tax return. The maximum amount of all contributions to an account for all tax years is $20,000. An account shall not contain more than $30,000.
The title of any home purchased with moneys from an account may not transfer for at least two years, absent reasonable circumstances.
Moneys withdrawn from an account shall be subject to recapture if at the time of withdrawal it has been less than one year since the first deposit in the account, or if the moneys are used for any purpose other than those specified in the act.
No financial institution shall be required to designate an account as a first-time home buyer savings account in its contracts or systems, to track the use of moneys withdrawn from an account, or to report any information that it is not otherwise required to by law.
The income tax deduction created by this act shall sunset December 31, 2024, unless reauthorized by the General Assembly.
This provision is substantially similar to SB 887 (2018), SB 444 (2017), and HB 563 (2017).
This act additionally requires the owner, seller, landlord, or other transferor of any premises that is or was previously contaminated with radioactive or hazardous material to disclose in writing to the prospective lessee, purchaser, or transferee that fact if the owner, seller, landlord, or other transferor has knowledge of such radioactive or hazardous contamination. Any person who fails to disclose such information is subject to a Class A misdemeanor.
SCOTT SVAGERA