California home tax credit going, going...

If you're interested in obtaining the tax break to help reduce the cost of buying a home, you better act fast.

Funding for the credit could be used up within three weeks, thanks to an expected flood of delayed closings by homeowners who hope to qualify for both the state and federal credits.

The federal homebuying credits, which provide up to $8,000 for first-time buyers and up to $6,500 for qualified repeat buyers, have a June 30 deadline for closing escrow in cases in which buyers signed a binding purchase contract by April 30.

The state credit, worth up to $10,000 over a three-year period, became effective May 1 and can be used by two groups of taxpayers: First-time and repeat buyers of new homes and first-time buyers of existing homes.

To claim the credit, first-time buyers of existing homes have until Dec. 31 to close escrow, or until program funding runs out.