The White House and the Democratic-led Congress have reached a deal on a $150 billion US economic stimulus plan.
The deal includes tax rebates for wage earners and business investment incentives.
Under the agreement, aimed at averting a recession in the struggling US economy, individuals would get a maximum rebate of $600 and married couples could get up to $1,200, plus $300 per child.
Businesses would be able to write off taxes for some new investments, in an effort to stimulate spending.
Individuals with annual incomes above $75,000 in adjusted gross income (AGI) or married couples making $150,000 in AGI would get less depending how high their incomes are above those thresholds.
The size of the package is equivalent to around 1% of the economy's size, according to one source close to the negotiations.
US President George W Bush has said an initiative of that size should help give the economy a 'robust' lift.
US home sales continue to fall
US existing home sales fell 2.2% in December as the beleaguered housing market continued to struggle.
The US National Association of Realtors reported an annualised sales rate of 4.89 million units, below most economist forecasts for a rate of 5.0 million.
The figures are the weakest since the group began tracking sales in 1999.
The median price for housing showed a drop of 6% to $208,400, another sign of the incessant retreat.
Over the past 12 months, US home sales are down 22%, suggesting that the worst housing slump in decades there has not bottomed out.
