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.
Kevin Foster-Keddie is president and chief executive of Olympia, Wash.-based WSECU.
Sean Torr is a Deloitte Risk and Financial Advisory managing director for Deloitte & Touche LLP. He leads the Lease Accounting Services group. He has more than 20 years of experience assisting large, complex clients with accounting convergence implications and financial reporting requirements.
Jeanne McGovern is an Audit & Assurance partner for Deloitte & Touche LLP. She has 35 years of experience auditing global companies and working on mergers and acquisitions, financing transactions and other issues facing multinational companies. Currently, she is serving as a senior leadership partner overseeing Deloitte's services for the new lease standard.
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.
