The IRS has posted two additional questions to the FAQ page that deals with Forms 1139 and 1045, one of which clarifies that the June 30, 2020 deadline to file either of the forms is moved to July 15, 2020 by application of Notice 2020-23.[1]

Due Date for Forms 1139 and 1045 for Losses from Calendar Year 2018 Filings

The IRS in Notice 2020-23, issued on April 9, 2020, granted taxpayers additional time to take certain actions otherwise required to take place between April 1, 2020 and July 14, 2020, treating those actions as timely if completed by July 15, 2020. On the same day the IRS issued Notice 2020-26, providing relief for filing 2018 loss carrybacks on Forms 1139 and Forms 1045, making such filings timely if filed within 18 months of the end of the year that generated the net operating loss. The notice contained a parenthetical example in Section 3 that provided the form must be filed “no later than June 30, 2020, for a taxable year ending December 31, 2018.”[2]

But a question remained—since June 30, 2020 is within the time period for which relief is granted under Notice 2020-23, does that due date relief apply to this separate relief published on the same date? Or did the IRS rule provided in Notice 2020-26, being issued at the same time, govern the due date in this case?

The day before June 30, 2020 the IRS added question 20 to the FAQ on the temporary procedures to file Forms 1045 and 1139 to resolve that matter. The question provides:

20. If the last date to file my Form 1139/1045 was extended six months under Notice 2020-26, and the extended due date is a date on or after April 1, 2020, and before July 15, 2020, will I also receive relief under Notice 2020-23?

Yes. Notice 2020-26 granted a six-month extension to file Form 1139 or Form 1045 with respect to the carryback of a net operating loss that arose in any taxable year that began during calendar year 2018 and that ended on or before June 30, 2019. If a taxpayer, including a taxpayer that filed a consolidated return and/or had a short tax year for the applicable loss year, satisfies the requirements of Notice 2020-26, the taxpayer will have 18 months rather than the normal 12 months, after the end of the loss year, to file Form 1139 or Form 1045. Notice 2020-23 granted affected taxpayers until July 15, 2020, to perform specified time-sensitive actions, including filing Forms 1139 and 1045. Under Notice 2020-23, a taxpayer filing a Form 1139 or Form 1045 which is due on or after April 1, 2020, and before July 15, 2020, including as a result of the relief provided in Notice 2020-26, is an affected taxpayer performing a specified time-sensitive action, and will have until July 15, 2020, to file the relevant form. (added June 29, 2020)[3]

Consolidated Groups

The IRS also added question 19 to the FAQ, this time simply clarifying that the relief applied to consolidated group filings as well:

19. Does the extension granted by Notice 2020-26 apply to consolidated groups?

Yes. (added June 29, 2020)

[1] “Temporary procedures to fax certain Forms 1139 and 1045 due to COVID-19,” Questions 19 and 20, IRS website, June 29, 2020, https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/temporary-procedures-to-fax-certain-forms-1139-and-1045-due-to-covid-19 (retrieved June 29, 2020)

[2] Notice 2020-26, Section 3

[3] “Temporary procedures to fax certain Forms 1139 and 1045 due to COVID-19,” Question 20, IRS website, June 29, 2020