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

Timothy Chou is an author, board member and Stanford lecturer.

Jocelyn Sivalingam, M.D., F.A.C.P., is a medical director with West’s Health Advocate Solutions, a company that provides health and well-being solutions for more than 12,500 organizations using clinical guidelines to inform preventive screening recommendations as well as ongoing disease management. Dr. Sivalingam is board-certified in Infectious Diseases and leads the clinical guidelines working group at Health Advocate. She also serves as a key leader of clinical operations for the chronic care solutions program and provides clinical expertise across a number of areas at Health Advocate.

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Michael Anderson is a 25-year veteran of the Property and Casualty (P&C) insurance industry. As Business Owner of Guidewire Predictive Analytics, he is focused on delivering advanced analytics solutions that enable Smart Core systems to the P&C Industry. Prior to joining Guidewire Software, Michael led Audatex U.S. Data Science and Analytics teams and served as Director, Travelers Insurance where he co-managed countrywide Auto Physical Damage Claim Operations.

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.

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The IRS headquarters building in Washington, D.C.
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