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.
Dr. Lynne Y. Williams is a professor in the School of Business and Information Technology at Purdue University Global. She has won numerous teaching, research, and service honors, including the Outstanding Full-Time Faculty Member award for 2014. Williams’s research has been published in a variety of journals and books and she has been cited for her expertise on cybersecurity and online privacy issues in publications such as the Computer Technology Review, Techonom and Computerworld. Most recently, Williams has been researching the legal and ethical implications of passive digital footprints with an emphasis on data gathered through the Internet of Things.
Jerry Shultz is president of Lightbeam Health.
Neekis Hammond, managing director with Sageworks, provides financial institutions with advisory services and thought leadership, and consults with product development on compliance and accuracy. He specializes in the Allowance for Loan Lease Losses; CECL preparation and methodology; acquired loan accounting and valuation, stress testing, and various portfolio analysis topics. Prior to joining Sageworks, he held a key role within Elliott Davis Decosimo’s FIG Consulting division where he provided valuation, accounting and loan analysis services. Prior to Elliott Davis Decosimo, he was with a multi-billion dollar financial institution where he worked on acquisitions ranging in size from $130 million to $2 billion and was an auditor with a regional CPA firm.
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.
