Senate OKs Tax-Credit Extension

The Senate has unanimously approved the three-month home-buyer tax credit extension previously okayed by the House of Representatives, the New York Times reports. President Obama is also expected to approve the measure, which gives buyers who have already signed contracts until Sept. 30 to close their transactions.


The legislation was approved after provisions that would extend unemployment benefits was decoupled from the home-buyer tax credit extension.

July 2, 2010, President Obama signed legislation to extend the closing deadline for homebuyer tax credit recipients.

Originally, qualifying buyers who were under contract by April 30, 2010 had until June 30, 2010 to close. But as this deadline approached, concerns arose that the backlog of loan applications created by the popularity of the program would leave many buyers unable to claim the credit.


In fact, an estimated 180,000 buyers were at risk of missing the closing deadline, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

These at-risk buyers can now breathe a sigh of relief. President Obama’s approval of the Homebuyers Assistance and Improvement Act of 2010 extends the closing date from June 30, 2010 to September 30, 2010, giving qualified buyers who signed a contract by April 30, 2010 an extra three months to complete their closing.