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On September 10, 2020, the IRS announced that it was adding six more forms to the list of those it will temporarily accept with electronic or digital signatures (e-signatures). The IRS had announced on August 28, 2020, the same temporary change for 10 other forms that normally must be signed with a handwritten signature (See Tax Alert 2020-2148). The temporary e-signature procedure is effective for the specified forms filed on or before December 31, 2020.

The IRS updated its August 28, 2020, memo to include the following forms:

• Form 706, U.S. Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return
• Form 706-NA, U.S. Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return
• Form 709, U.S. Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return
• Form 1120-ND, Return for Nuclear Decommissioning Funds and Certain Related Persons
• Form 3520, Annual Return To Report Transactions With Foreign Trusts and Receipt of Certain Foreign Gifts
• Form 3520-A, Annual Information Return of Foreign Trust With a U.S. Owner

In its original announcement, the IRS had listed the following forms:

• Form 3115, Application for Change in Accounting Method
• Form 8832, Entity Classification Election
• Form 8802, Application for U.S. Residency Certification
• Form 1066, U.S. Income Tax Return for Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduit
• Form 1120-RIC, U.S. Income Tax Return for Regulated Investment Companies
• Form 1120-C, U.S. Income Tax Return for Cooperative Associations
• Form 1120-REIT, U.S. Income Tax Return for Real Estate Investment Trusts
• Form 1120-L, U.S. Life Insurance Company Income Tax Return
• Form 1120-PC, U.S. Property and Casualty Insurance Company Income Tax Return
• Form 8453 series, Form 8878 series, and Form 8879 series regarding IRS e-file signature authorization forms

The IRS memo does not prescribe any specific method for e-signing the specified forms. Taxpayers may therefore choose their preferred e-signature method.

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