"The income limitation for single tax payers went up from $75,000 under the old rules to $125,000 under the new rules. For married tax payers, the income limitation went up from $150,000 to $225,000. "This means that more people will qualify for the credit - especially in parts of the country with higher costs of living," Nicholas said. "This should help stimulate parts of the housing market that may not have been impacted by the old version of the credit."

There are creative ways of structuring your home purchase transaction in ways that maximize the benefits of the credit. Here are a few examples suggested by Nicholas (www.CMPSInstitute.org):

• The credit applies to 1-4 unit homes as long as you live in one of the units as your primary residence - you could live in one unit and rent out the others
• If two unmarried individuals buy a home, and only one of the individuals qualifies for the credit based on their income or past home ownership status, the individual who qualifies for the credit can claim the full credit. (Note: In the case of married couples, both spouses must qualify for the credit.)

The credit applies even if you have co-signers on your mortgage loan