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

Chase Tarkenton is the SVP and General Manager of boost.ai, North America. He's focused on partnership growth, helping insurance firms leverage AI technology in personalized customer experiences.

Nikita Mistry of BakerHostetler

Nikita Mistry is an associate at the law firm BakerHostetler. She is a member of the team serving as counsel to the court-appointed trustee under the Securities Investor Protection Act for the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.

Jimmy Fokas of BakerHostetler

Jimmy Fokas is a partner at BakerHostetler. He is an experienced white collar and securities enforcement defense attorney with a broad practice representing public and private companies, regulated entities, audit committees and their officers, directors and employees before the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Justice, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the New York Office of the Attorney General. He also conducts internal investigations regarding potential FCPA violations and represents court-appointed fiduciaries in the recovery of assets. Prior to joining the firm, he served as senior counsel in the Division of Enforcement in the New York regional office of the SEC, where he conducted investigations and commenced actions concerning accounting and financial reporting fraud, insider trading, offering fraud and various other securities law violations. He currently serves as a co-leader of the Financial Investigations, Restatement and Accounting practice team.

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.

IRS-Building-light
The IRS headquarters building in Washington, D.C.
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg