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
Whittam-Laurence-Impact Global Solutions

Laurence Whittam is the founder of Impact Global Solutions, an independent outsourcing consultancy serving CPA firms across the United States. A nationally recognized strategist, speaker, and author, he has been named named a Top 20 Under 40 Influencer by CPA Practice Advisor, and is the co-author of the AICPA Outsourcing Toolkit. He is also the host of the Business Beyond Borders Podcast.

Al Rogers is a seasoned healthcare executive with over 20 years of experience in consumer-driven health and benefits innovation. At ECHO, Al leads the growth and strategy for Premium Payment Manager—an automated payment solution purpose-built to help brokers, TPAs, and carriers deliver ICHRAs that feel and function like traditional group plans.

Joel Campbell of TreviPay

Joel Campbell leads TreviPay's financial and treasury operations, financial controls, statutory accounting, financial planning and analysis, and process improvement initiatives to optimize order-to-cash with TreviPay's fully managed B2B payments platform. He has more than two decades of domestic and international financial expertise. He joined TreviPay in 2020.

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.
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