Gift Tax Calculator
Calculate gift tax exclusions, lifetime exemption usage and potential tax on large gifts.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How does the gift tax annual exclusion work?
You can give up to $19,000 per recipient per year (2026) without any gift tax or reporting requirements. Married couples can combine exclusions to give $38,000 per recipient. These are per-recipient limits — you can give $19,000 to as many people as you want. The exclusion adjusts for inflation periodically.
What is the lifetime gift tax exemption?
The lifetime gift and estate tax exemption is $15 million per person in 2026. Gifts above the annual exclusion reduce this lifetime exemption. No tax is actually due until you exhaust the entire lifetime exemption. Once exceeded, gifts are taxed at 40%. The exemption is unified with the estate tax exemption.
Are gifts to a spouse taxable?
Gifts between US citizen spouses are completely tax-free with no dollar limit (unlimited marital deduction). Gifts to a non-citizen spouse are limited to $194,000 per year (2026) before gift tax applies. Gifts to charities are also generally tax-free and may be deductible as charitable contributions on your income tax return.
The 2026 gift tax rules with examples
The annual exclusion is $19,000 per recipient per year in 2026. Gifts under it are not reported. Gifts above it are reported on Form 709 and reduce the giver's lifetime exemption of $15 million, and no tax is actually paid until that lifetime amount is used up. In practice almost no one pays gift tax; the form is bookkeeping.
| Gift | Annual exclusion used | Reported on Form 709 | Lifetime exemption used | Tax due now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $15,000 to a child | $15,000 | No | $0 | $0 |
| $50,000 to a child | $19,000 | Yes | $31,000 | $0 |
| $50,000 to a child from a married couple (gift splitting) | $38,000 | Yes (to elect splitting) | $12,000 | $0 |
| $19,000 to each of 4 grandchildren from each grandparent | $152,000 total | No | $0 | $0 |
| $100,000 of college tuition paid directly to the university | Unlimited (education exclusion) | No | $0 | $0 |
| $500,000 house to a child | $19,000 | Yes | $481,000 | $0 (lifetime exemption absorbs it) |
Worked example: helping with a house down payment
Parents give a child $80,000 toward a home in 2026. Each parent can give $19,000, so $38,000 is excluded. The remaining $42,000 is reported on Form 709 and uses $42,000 of the couple's $30 million combined lifetime exemption. No tax is due and the child owes nothing either; recipients never pay gift tax. The mortgage lender will want a gift letter stating the money is not a loan. Splitting the gift across December and January ($38,000 in each year) keeps the whole $76,000 under the exclusion and avoids the form entirely.
What is not a gift
Tuition paid directly to the school and medical bills paid directly to the provider, in any amount. Gifts to a US citizen spouse, unlimited (a non-citizen spouse has a $190,000 annual limit in 2026). Gifts to qualified charities. Paying for a child's expenses while they are a dependent. 529 contributions can be front-loaded: five years of exclusions, $95,000 per giver per beneficiary, in one year with an election on Form 709.
Why the step-up matters more than the exemption
Giving an appreciated asset passes the giver's cost basis to the recipient. A $500,000 house bought for $100,000 that is gifted carries a $400,000 built-in gain; the same house inherited gets a basis of $500,000 and the gain disappears. For assets with large gains, leaving them in the estate is usually better than gifting them, unless the estate is above the $15 million exemption. Cash and assets with little gain are the right things to give during life.
State gift tax
Only Connecticut has a state gift tax, unified with its estate tax. A few states with estate taxes look back at gifts made within one to three years of death (Minnesota, New York) and pull them back into the taxable estate. Everywhere else, the federal rules are the only ones that apply.