Senate Passes Extension for $8,000 Buyer Tax Credit
Posted on November 5th, 2009 by Jonathan Dalton
We’re one step closer to seeing the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers extended for another few months.
The Senate on Wednesday passed a wide-ranging bill that including multiple measures, including an extension of the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers through April 30, 2010. Under this bill, buyers would need to close escrow on their new homes no later than June 30.
The current $8,000 tax credit is due to expire November 30.
In addition, the bill adds a $6,500 tax credit for homebuyers who have been in their homes for at least five years; the idea behind this second credit is to encourage the all-but-extinct so-called “move up” buyer to take the plunge, sell their home and take advantage of lower pricing to move into a larger house.
This bill still needs to be passed by the House and signed by President Obama but, if the 98-0 vote in the Senate is any indication, final passage is a fait accompli.
Unanswered is the question of whether this is good policy; consider that answer deferred until next spring when hopefully Congress will let the soon-to-be-passed tax credit expire once and for all.
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Agreed. I am not so sure this is a good idea, it is going to cost us a lot of money in the end.
-Tyler