Time running out for homebuyer's tax credit

April 15 isn't the only tax deadline to be mindful of this month: The first-time homebuyer's credit is winding down this month, too. Taxpayers hoping to qualify for the credit must finalize their contracts by a month from today, on April 30, 2010. If you sign a contract by that date, you have until June 30, 2010, to settle on the purchase.

If you're hoping for another extension of the credit, as happened with the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009, which extended the deadline for qualifying home purchases from Nov. 30, 2009, to April 30, 2010, don't hold your breath. Enthusiasm for the bill has waned, possibly due to the enormous price tag of the last extension: $1 billion per month.

Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), who initially pushed hard for the bill, has no intention of re-introducing the legislation. His spokesman explained, "He has no plans to introduce legislation to extend the credit. Part of the benefit of the tax credit was the urgency its sun-setting generated."