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.
Germaine Cota, CPA, is senior vice president of finance & accounting at BILL.
Jacob T. Crowley, CPA, is an assistant professor of accounting at the James F. Dicke College of Business Administration of Ohio Northern University. Prior to joining the faculty at ONU, he was an auditor in the Deloitte Cleveland office focusing on manufacturing and landscaping services. He teaches principles of accounting, intermediate financial accounting, auditing, accounting information systems, and is the capstone program coordinator at ONU. He performs research on audit quality, accounting pedagogy, and NCAA college athletics. He is a certified public accountant in the state of Ohio and a member of the board of directors of the North American Accounting Society.
Ashley Monaco is a professional assistant professor of accounting at Walsh University. She holds CPA and CFE licenses, as well as a master's degree in forensic accounting from Ohio Northern University. Before joining the university, she worked as an auditor for a midsized firm. She also serves as the advisor for the university's accounting club and is actively involved in fostering connections between academia and industry.
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.
