IRS Expands COVID-19 Postponement Relief Under Notice 2020-23
On April 9,2020, the IRS issued Notice 2020-23, which contains expanded relief for those tax forms and other filings that are postponed as was originally announced last month. See the IRS Coronavirus website for more details.
First, the payments and returns eligible for relief are expanded. Any tax return or payment due on or after April 1, 2020, and before July 15, 2020, is now automatically postponed to July 15, 2020—no extension forms, letters, or other forms of documentation or communication are required to make use of this relief. This will now cover, for example, calendar-year 2020 second quarter estimated tax payments, among other things. If an Affected Taxpayer as defined by the notice needs additional time to file, such taxpayer may choose to file the appropriate extension form by July 15, 2020, to obtain a filing extension. However, the taxpayer’s extension date may not exceed the original statutory or regulatory extension date. For example, a taxpayer can file Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, by July 15, 2020, to extend the due date of their 2019 calendar year tax return (generally due on April 15, 2020). However, the extension granted will only be to October 15, 2020, which is the original extension date for 2019 calendar year individual tax returns.
Second, the IRS has expanded the forms that are now postponed. These forms now include: 1040-series, 1120-series, 1065, 1066, 1041, 706 (estate tax payments and returns), 709 (gift tax payments and returns), 8971, 990-T, and estimated tax payments. The relief includes not just the specified forms, but also all schedules, returns, and other forms filed as attachments, such as schedule H, schedule SE, and Forms 3520, 5471, 5472, 8621, 8858, 8865, and 8938.
| Overview of Extensions Granted in Notice 2020-23 | ||
| Type of Tax Return | Form 1 | 2020 Deadline |
| Individual/Married Tax Return & Payments | Form 1040, 1040-SR, 1040-NR, 1040-NR- EZ, 1040-PR, 1040-SS |
7/15/2020 |
| Trust & Estate Tax Return & Payment | Form 1041, 1041-N, 1041-QFT | 7/15/2020 |
| Partnership Returns | Form 1065; Form 1066 | 7/15/2020 |
| Corporation Tax Return & Payments | Form 1120, 1120-C, 1120-F, 1120-FSC, 1120-H, 1120-L, 1120-ND, 1120-PC, 1120- POL, 1120-REIT, 1120-RIC, 1120-S, 1120-SF |
7/15/2020 |
| United States Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Return & Payment |
Form 706; 706-NA, 706-A, 706-QDT, 706- GS(T), 706-GS(D), 706-GS(D-1) | 7/15/2020 |
| Form 706 Pursuant to Rev. Proc. 2017-34 | Form 706 | 7/15/2020 |
| Information Regarding Beneficiaries Acquiring Property from a Decedent | Form 8971 | 7/15/2020 |
| United States Gift and Generation- Skipping Transfer Tax Return and Payment | Form 709 | 7/15/2020 |
| Exempt Organization Business Income Tax Return & Payment | Form 990-T | 7/15/2020 |
| Excise Tax Payments on Investment Income & Payment | Form 990-PF; Form 4720 | 7/15/2020 |
| Quarterly Estimated Income Tax Payments & Payments | Form 990-W; Form 1040-ES; 1040-ES (NR), 1040-ES (PR); Form 1041-ES; Form 1120-W | 7/15/2020 |
| Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax 2 | Form 990 | 7/15/2020 |
| Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan2 | Form 5500 | 7/15/2020 |
1 - This relief includes not just the filing of specified Forms, but also all schedules, returns, and other forms that are filed as attachments to specified forms or are required to be filed by the due date of Specified Forms
2 - This relief comes through Rev. Proc. 2018-58 for affected taxpayers with a time sensitive act which is due to be performed on or after April 1, 2020.
NOTE: The above list is not intended to be all inclusive. Rev. Proc. 2018-58 provides other disaster-related relief for time-sensitive actions and elections.
The period beginning on April 1, 2020, and ending on July 15, 2020, will be disregarded in the calculation for interest, penalty, or addition to tax for failure to file the forms or make payments that are temporarily postponed by Notice 2020-23. Such amounts will accrue starting on July 16, 2020.
If you have any questions, please contact a member of the Tax Controversy & Procedure team.
SHARE