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.
Colin McNamara is a reporter for National Mortgage News. He recently graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism and minor in general business from the University of Maryland, where he covered politics at Capital News Service and college sports as the managing editor of Testudo Times. He interned or freelanced for a variety of other publications, including The Baltimore Sun.
Jarrod Barry is a summer reporting associate at National Mortgage News through the Dow Jones News Fund. He is currently studying at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.
Alex Walters is an intern at The Bond Buyer via the Dow Jones News Fund. He is a rising senior at Michigan State University, where he writes for the student newspaper, The State News. Last summer, he interned at The Chronicle of Higher Education. His work has appeared in outlets including the Detroit Free Press and Bridge Michigan.
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.
