Sickness NOT Enough To Beat Late Filing Penalties

A woman with a plethora of health problems made several large taxable gifts to her daughter, but failed to make the gift tax return by the filing date. The woman was down with pneumonia and heart palpitations. She had cataract surgery and knee replacement surgery during the same time period. The court refused to waive the late filing penalties because she wasn’t sick enough.  The court’s reasoning was that if she was able to make the gifts and handle her financial situation, she would have been able to handle the proper filing of the return. Her illnesses did not incapacitate her for more than a brief period of time, alleges the court.