The Treasury Department Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) has reported that the First Time Homebuyer Credit has resulted in fraudulent or erroneous filings that have cost the treasury $618.4M. Some of the claims were filed on behalf of people as young as 4 years old, according to the report. When the law was passed, TIGTA recommended to the IRS that taxpayers be required to verify their eligibility and to document that they had purchased a home in the stipulated time period. The IRS failed to follow this recommendation. This credit extends to July 1, 2009, so some of these filings won’t be made until the 2009 returns are filed. John Lewis (D-GA) has introduced legislation to give the IRS additional powers to block the payment of refunds based on potentially fraudulent or erroneous claims.