They’re gone – for now.

The California Franchise Tax Board announced the end Thursday to new applications for a $10,000 state tax credit that was snapped up faster than expected by buyers of new, unoccupied houses.

“We’re not taking any more applications,” confirmed tax board spokeswoman Brenda Voet. The move, announced after just 124 days and during the busiest time of the homebuying season, called for a midnight Thursday deadline to shut off the fax machine accepting applications. The agency said it expected earlier in the day to exceed its limit of 12,000 applications for 10,000 tax credits. The tax agency took 2,000 extra applications because many it received have been duplicates, invalid or incomplete, it said.

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