IRS postpones deadline for gift and GST taxes due to coronavirus

The Internal Revenue Service is postponing the date for filing gift tax and generation-skipping transfer tax returns and making payments until July 15 because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

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.

CORONAVIRUS IMPACT: ADDITIONAL COVERAGE

Mike Price is the chief technology officer at ZeroFOX. He is responsible for leading and setting the vision for the firm’s technology. He oversees all aspects of engineering, research, development and all other technology operations. Before ZeroFOX, he founded the mobile security company Vulnr. Prior to Vulnr, Mike was vice president of engineering at Appthority. In this role, Mike collaborated with the engineering team to build industry-leading products, with a focus on mobile operating system and application security. Previously, Mike was senior operations manager for McAfee Labs.

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Mike Byam is the former Chief Data Officer and Commercial Lines CIO of The Hartford, and a current Novarica Research Council Fellow. He can be reached at mbyam@council.novarica.com

Genady Knizhnik is senior consultant at Don K Dennison Solutions.

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.

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The IRS headquarters building in Washington, D.C.
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