Claiming Your Credit

To claim your mortgage tax credit (MTC), please review IRS Publication 530 or contact a tax professional.

Getting a Copy of Your Mortgage Tax Credit

If you need information about your MTC to complete your income tax return, download the Request for Copy of MTC. Complete the form and fax it to 614.995.0487. You may also mail the form to:

The Ohio Housing Finance Agency
Attention: Office of Homeownership
57 East Main Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215

We will process your request within seven business days of receiving your form.

Mortgage Tax Credit Reissuance Fee

  • To reissue your mortgage tax credit (MTC), OHFA will charge a $55 reissuance fee. This fee will apply to homeowners refinancing their loans. Loans being refinanced must have the reissued MTC certificate completed within 12 months of the closing date of their refinance. Automatic revocation of the MTC certificate will occur if the holder does not notify OHFA within one year from the date of the refinance.
  • The $55 reissuance fee will also be charged for lost MTC certificates.
  • No personal checks will be accepted. Payments can either be made via cashier check or money order.
  • If OHFA receives notification that an MTC loan has been cancelled by the lender for any reason and it is later discovered that an MTC should actually have been issued for that loan, OHFA will assess the lender a reinstatement fee of $300. It should be noted that the $300 fee is in addition to the normal $500 MTC application fee paid by the borrower when submitted with the closing package.

Refinancing Your Home

If you currently hold an MTC and decide to refinance your home, OHFA will need to reissue your MTC .The new certificate must be reissued within one year of refinancing the residence.

In order for OHFA to reissue the MTC, you will need to supply the Agency with the following documents:

  • Copy of original certificate or reissued certificate
  • Copy of new note
  • Copy of original note
  • Copy of most recent year's federal tax return
  • Copy of new closing statement
  • Current telephone number
  • $55 reissuance fee. No personal checks will be accepted. Payments can either be made via cashier check or money order.

In accordance with regulations in IRS Publication 530, the above requirements for a reissued MTC will:

  • Replace the existing certificate
  • Show credit rate used to calculate credit
  • Show the certified indebtedness amount

Recapture Tax Reimbursement

OHFA is pleased to announce that recapture tax is no longer an obstacle for participants utilizing our homeownership programs and products.

What is Recapture Tax?

Recapture tax is a federal tax a homebuyer may have to pay if he or she sells the home within the first nine years of the purchase date, receives a net profit on the sale of the home and exceeds the maximum income limits at the time of sale. All three provisions must occur at the time of sale for any potential recapture tax obligation to apply.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires recapture tax, because OHFA mortgages are sometimes funded through the sale of tax-free mortgage revenue bonds. Recapture tax also applies to homebuyers using OHFA mortgage tax credits. This provision ensures compliance with OHFA's stated purpose of helping low- and moderate- income homebuyers.

Reimbursement Program

Effective March 1, 2006, OHFA will reimburse homebuyers for the actual amount of recapture tax paid to the IRS on loans closed on or after the effective date. In the past, the term "recapture tax" caused potential homebuyers to think twice about buying their home. However, through extensive research, OHFA has found that very few people have ever had to pay the penalty for selling their homes early.

Requesting Recapture Tax Reimbursement

To complete the reimbursement process, complete the Request for Recapture Tax Reimbursement form and fax it to 614.995.0487 or mail it to:

Ohio Housing Finance Agency
Attention: Office of Homeownership
57 East Main Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215