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.

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James Quigley is chief executive officer at GoCanvas, a mobile applications development firm.

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Martin Higgins is a Vice President of Research and Consulting at Novarica. He is an experienced insurance technology consultant, having served as Practice Director for... Edgewater Consulting where he was responsible for the company’s property/casualty business nationwide. He is an expert in technology strategy, core system selection and implementation, systems integration, legacy modernization, software development, and data warehousing in both property/casualty and life/health/annuity insurance. His most recent experience includes founding a boutique property/casualty-focused consultancy and serving as VP of Solutions Engineering for a core systems vendor. Martin holds an MSc in Computer Science from Imperial College in London and a BSc in Physics from University of Lancaster in the UK. He can be reached directly at mhiggins@novarica.com.

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Haden Kirkpatrick is the head of marketing strategy and innovation at Esurance. He oversees all initiatives related to product and service innovation and manages the annual planning processes for the marketing and service business units. Haden is an innovator who is constantly thinking about how blockchain technology will impact the auto insurance industry. To learn more about Esurance’s auto insurance policies, visit their website.

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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