March 30, 2020 - As noted in a previous WP Tax Alert, the IRS issued Notice 2020-18 that postponed the due date for tax filings and payments originally due on April 15, 2020 to July 15, 2020. Last week, the IRS issued a list of FAQs that clarified several questions related to the postponement (See “
Whitley Penn Tax Alert: IRS Issues Additional Guidance on Postponement of April 15 Deadline
” dated March 25, 2020). Question 7 of that FAQ stated that the due date for gift tax returns and payments would not be postponed until July 15, 2020.
The IRS has now issued Notice 2020-20 that reverses the original guidance. Notice 2020-20 provides that Federal gift and generation skipping transfer tax returns (Form 709) and payments due on April 15, 2020 are also automatically postponed to July 15, 2020. Gift tax returns filed and payments made by July 15, 2020 will be considered timely.
The relief is automatic and taxpayers are not required to submit an extension of time to file Form 709 to obtain the postponement. Taxpayers who need an additional period of time to file Form 709 may file Form 8892 on or before July 15, 2020 to obtain an extension of time to file until October 15, 2020. Form 8892 does not extend the time for payment of any gift and generation skipping tax due on July 15. Penalty and interest on payments made after July 15 will begin to accrue on July 16, 2020.
