On March 27, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2020-20 to clarify that taxpayers with a gift tax or generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax payment due or the requirement to file Form 709 (United States Gift and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Return) on April 15, 2020, are covered by the filing extension being offered as part of the federal coronavirus relief effort. The IRS earlier announced in Notice 2020-18 that it was extending the 2019 tax filing deadline to July 15, which now also applies to these two taxes.
Per the IRS guidance, this relief applies automatically—there’s no requirement to file Form 8892 (Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File Form 709 and/or Payment of Gift/Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax) to obtain the benefit of the filing and payment postponement. No interest, penalty or addition to tax will accrue as a result of taking advantage of the extension.
Form 8892 may still be filed by taxpayers wishing to obtain an extension to file Form 709 by Oct. 15, 2020. However, the guidance specifically notes that any gift and GST tax payments will still be due July 15.
According to Tax Notes, the IRS has also extended the March 31 deadline for foreign financial institutions to file Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act reports to July 15.
The IRS has so far specifically excluded other types of taxes from relief, including estate and gift taxes, excise taxes and payroll taxes.
