The Internal Revenue Service is postponing the date for filing gift tax and generation-skipping transfer tax returns and making payments until July 15, 2020, because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The IRS issued Notice 2020-20 on Friday, extending the relief it provided earlier this month on the tax-filing and payment dates for most other types of tax returns. The IRS also said the associated interest, additions to tax, and penalties for late filing or late payment will be suspended for the gift tax and generation-skipping transfer tax until July 15.
Brett Settles is the director of human resources for PKF O’Connor Davies, one of the largest CPA firms in the New York Metropolitan area. Brett is also the founder of PKF O’Connor Davies TalentConnect which offers full-cycle recruiting services.
Michael Walsh is the CEO of Cariloop, which provides a human-powered Caregiver Support Platform to help working caregivers and families plan for and manage the care of their loved ones. The Platform pairs caregivers with a dedicated, experienced Care Coach who guides families through the many decisions they make over the length of their caregiving journey, all while collaborating on a digital care portal that helps families securely communicate across all their devices and store important health, financial and legal documents.
Srinivasan Pandurangan is senior manager of business consulting at Virtusa.
The relief is automatic and applies to any amounts due related to these types of returns. There’s no requirement to file for an extension and the three-month period between the original due date of April 15 and the new deadline of July 15 will be disregarded in terms of any interest, penalties or extra taxes for those who fail to file a Form 709 United States Gift and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Return by April 15.
Groups of tax and accounting professionals such as the American Institute of CPAs, the National Society of Accountants and the National Conference of CPA Practitioners have been pressing the IRS to provide additional forms of tax relief beyond the initial relief granted for tax payments from coronavirus victims.


