STICKING POINTS

Some of the main issues still unsettled in the negotiations include the threshold for higher income taxes -- $250,000 as President Obama first outlined or $400,000 as he discussed later -- the rate on estate taxes and the need to extend unemployment benefits.

WHAT NEXT?

Votes could be held as early as Sunday night in the Senate and the House. If a negotiated deal isn't reached, Democrats will press Republicans for a vote on Obama's original proposal.