Government investigator: Nearly 1,300 prison inmates get $9 million in homebuyer tax credits

Investigator: Inmates get homebuyer tax credits

WASHINGTON — A government investigator says nearly 1,300 prison inmates have wrongly received more than $9 million in tax credits for homebuyers despite being incarcerated when they reportedly bought a home.

The investigator says 241 of the inmates were serving life sentences.

In all, the Treasury Department’s inspector general for tax administration estimated that more than 14,100 taxpayers wrongly received at least $26.7 million in homebuyer tax credits.

The Internal Revenue Service says it is taking steps to get the money back.

The credits — up to $8,000 for first-time homebuyers and up to $6,500 for existing homeowners — were enacted to boost slumping housing markets.