Nation

Nation

Leasehold Improvements Renewal Efforts Underway
For more than 10 years, a temporary provision in the depreciation rules has allowed a 15 year recovery period for the cost of making improvements to leased property. This rule expired as of January 1, 2010, however. Thus, unless Congress acts to renew and extend the provision, the cost recovery period is now 39 years, with the improvements being treated as part of the cost of the underlying real property. A Senate version of a jobs package is pending that would renew this (and many other) expired provision and make the 15-year recovery period available for all of calendar 2010.

National Flood Insurance Program Extended
A temporary extension of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) was signed into law by President Obama on March 2. This will extend the NFIP through March 28 (it was originally scheduled to expire on February 28). The temporary extension will allow Congress to work on a longer extension, currently pending in the Senate, through the end of 2010. NAR will continue to push for a longer extension and even more meaningful long term reform. If you have questions about the NFIP, feel free to contact Austin Perez at aperez@realtors.org. More information can also be found on REALTOR.org: http://www.realtor.org/fedistrk.nsf/c2c6e17e27e92119852572f8005cd953/b46b0a71d43b9de8852572a5004e5abc?OpenDocument.