I'm in a similar situation and was told that I would need to get a county official to provide me with a letter stating that certificates of occupancy are not issued in my area. The IRS could not tell me just which county official to go to but, after checking around a bit, I found out that the septic permitting office in my county was providing "no certificate of occupancy" letters. So if you had to get a septic permit (or any other sort of permit), I would check with that permitting office first. If that doesn't work, try your county commissioners. As for "proof" of when you actually move in, the IRS can't tell you what evidence they will actually accept - but they will tell you that the "burden of proof" is on the taxpayer. Apparently, whichever IRS agent reviews your tax filing just gets to decide whether the evidence you present seems convincing enough to him/her. But if the agent decides against you and denies your claim for the credit, you CAN appeal the denial so there is at least some hope you won't be denied willy-nilly. Still, it seems likely that the more proof you provide of your move-in date, the more likely it is that the IRS agent will be satisified. So: 1) File a change of address with the post office and provide copies of the change of address forms. 2) Officially (in writing) notifiy your employers of your new address and keep a copy of your letter. 3) Change your voter registration. 4) If you had been claiming your house in town as your homestead, contact the taxing office and officially relinquish it. Than claim your new home as your new homestead as of your move-in date. Even if you live in a state where homestead exemption is automatic, you can still file an affidavit in the county land records stating that you are claiming such-and-such an address as your homestead. And you can send a letter to the taxing authorities for both your old home and your new home stating that you are changing your homestead. 5) Change your home and automobile insurance policies. Automobile policy rates are usually set, at least in part, on where your car is "garaged" so changing that address will be further proof of your move-in date. 6) Since you need water and electricity to build, you've probably had most of the utilities hooked up and in your name just about forever. But if you were planning to get cable service or DSL or a land line telephone or anything like that, go ahead and get it hooked up before the 30th and keep the records. 7) Start having the local newspaper delivered to your new address... even if you only sign up for a three month subscription. Nobody has a newspaper delivered to an address where they aren't yet living! 8) Hire a moving van - or at least rent a U-Haul - to move your belongings. And keep the records. 9) Arrange for weekly trash pick up at your new home. 10) If you still have a portajohn on the premises, contact the portapotty people and have them pick it up and send you a final bill. (Nobody keeps a portapotty after they've moved in!) 11) If you still have a dumpster on your property for construction debris, get it hauled away and get your final bill. The IRS is not going to believe you have moved in if you still have a dumpster sitting in the yard! 12) Throw yourself a housewarming party and invite everybody by email. Be sure to indicate on the invitation that you are celebrating the fact that you have FINALLY MOVED IN to your new home. Keep copies of your invitations and the guest list. Every guest is a potential witness for you in the event you wind up having to appeal a denial of the credit. Think also in terms of providing evidence that you have MOVED OUT of your old home. Eg., If you were planning to sell (or rent) your old home, start advertizing that it is available as of May 1. And keep records of your efforts to sell or rent the old place. Or, if a family member is going to live in the old house once you move out, have them sign a dated rental agreement even if you only charge them $10 per year in rent. And have them change all the utilities at the old house over to their name immediately. Or, if the old house will sit empty for awhile (like us, you may be planning to spruce up the old house a bit before putting it on the market), have the utilities shut off until you are ready to start working on it. That will help prove you are no longer living at the old address. Besides, why pay for utility services you're not using. And, keep calling the IRS to ask about this issue. The more calls they get to their help-line asking questions about this specific issue, the more likely it is that the IRS will develop guidelines to give their agents so that there will be some consistency in how agents deal with those of us making a claim for the credit under our somewhat unusual circumstances.

chapnc ... I debated replying but thought you may have misunderstood ... we do pay property taxes now on the land. As I said, it's standard for our area that the house is not taxed till you have a certificate of occupancy. You are taxed only on the land until the house receives it CO. It may be different in your area but I've never heard anyone say they were taxed on the value of a home while it is still under construction. Our home does have value but not the same value as it will when it's complete. We are being assessed at what they appraise the completed house will be and we have just started on the interior (and I'm still patiently waiting for a toilet LOL). I think we cover our fair share of city/county services now as we do pay property taxes now along with state and local taxes. Our area does not have a city/county police department ... we rely on the state police about 45 minutes away. Our local fire company is all volunteer, self-supporting, and we donate yearly. I sure that everyone pays property taxes on the land but would be interested in knowing if anyone else has had to pay property taxes on their home while still under construction.

Hi long-dead city in Italy, If you send me a bill relating to service that you gave me from a month to three months or so ago, I'll probably pay it. If you send me a bill relating to a service that you did for me darn near two years ago - I'm going to be pretty persistent in my request for full information about what that bill covers. And if you get my back up about it - I'll quite likely get *really* persistent about your treating me fairly!! I no get'um de account - you no get'um da money!! If, after a lot of toing-and-froing, without your giving me satisfaction ... ... I'd probably send you a cheque. Unsigned. When you contacted me about the problem ... ... I'd ask you for full particulars. If you didn't provide them - you couldn't cash the cheque. If you try to damage my credit rating - I'll dispute, saying that my records show that I sent you a cheque. If you get testy, I'll probably tell you that I've mislaid the cheque that you sent back for signing. I think that my son may have it in his luggage. He's gone to Australia, India, etc. and I expect him back in ... ... probably somthing like a couple of years. I should be able to send the cheque to you about then. If you contact me to ask me to write a second cheque - I'll tell you that I've already writteen a cheque to cover that bill, and am not in the habit of writing two. It takes a bit of ingenuity, patience - and a bit of humour - to beat them guys at their own game. Good luck - in persisting until you get satisfaction. Why let their inefficiency ... ... and refusal to honour your legitimate request for clarification ... ... possibly cost you money ... ... that you just might not really owe??? Have a great weekend - what's left ot it. ole joyful

There are several avenues you can try. First, look in your phone book to see if there's a local branch of the Internal Revenue Service. If there is, I'd go that route because it would no doubt be free. If no local IRS office, look under "Accountants" to see if some of the ads mention Back Tax solutions, Tax problem resolution. Can also look under "Tax" for firms advertising help with tax problems. Avoid H&R Block type places - they're fine for tax preparation, but I wouldn't entrust them with something like this. You're a good person for wanting to help - but you yourself can't go down in flames over it. It's unfortunate, but your friend has to play an active role, it is his situation. Make an inquiry phone call on your friend's behalf to places that you find; they don't need to know who you are or who he is, just a general description of the situation. The person answering the phone can advise if they can they help and at what cost. Armed with some information, talk to your friend and tell him he has to make a decision and an appointment with someone. If his papers are in a mess or nonexistant, no he's not going to be able to claim deductions or get too many breaks. The taxes themselves, plus penalties are mounting so delaying taking action is only going to add to the misery. It's hard, but you have to consider what kind of position you want to put yourself in - certainly not an enabler for someone who is either not being adequately treated for ADD or who is merely irresponsible. Help in getting the ball rolling; then stand back providing your continued friendship and moral support.