TNT: Tax News Thursday

Following on from my last post, here's some more good, tax-related news this Thursday: the Senate has voted to renew the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers. The measure, which will be extended through June 2010 if it passes a House vote, was included as part of the (until recently) stalled bill to extend unemployment benefits in states with more than high unemployment.

Should the bill go through, jobless residents of states with more than 8.5 percent unemployment will be entitled to claim an extra 20 weeks of unemployment benefit, while those in certain states below that threshold would be entitled to an additional 14 weeks, according to The Washington Post.

So the safety net gets a little larger, while those in a position to help kick start the floundering housing market have a reason to celebrate too—assuming they both come into effect, of course. How long before the calls begin to extend both provisions yet again is, of course, open to question. I'm calling January before they get mentioned again.

--Posted by Phil Stott, Vault.com