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.
Megan Harris is a business writer focused on productivity and new media. When not writing about IT topics, she's working on her first novel.
Dr. Jiakai Chen is an assistant professor of finance at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa's Shidler College of Business.
Robin Arnfield is a freelance banking and payments industry journalist whose work has been published by Bank Technology News, CardLine, ATM & Debit News, American Banker, ATM Marketplace, Mobile Payments Today, Cards International, Electronic Payments International, and InfoSecurity, among others. He began his journalism career in the U.K. writing for a daily business news service in 1983 and began covering payments in 1986. He has been based in Canada since 2003 and covers the global payments 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.
