This video was published by the IRS.
If you give money or property to someone as a gift, you (the giver) may need to file a federal gift tax return. But that’s only if your gift was greater than a certain dollar amount called the Annual Exclusion Amount. The IRS Form 709 instructions list the Annual Exclusion amount for any given tax year.
If your gift was more than the Annual Exclusion Amount, you will probably need to file a Gift Tax Return, but you still might not owe any gift tax. There are some gifts that you don’t have to report at all. You may not need to file a Gift Tax Return if:
- The gift was given to your spouse.
- The gift was given to a charity.
- You paid someone’s medical expenses.
- You paid someone’s tuition directly to the facility or school.
You can learn more about this and other details by reading Publication 559: Survivors, Executors, and Administrators. It has a section on gift taxes. To find it, go to IRS.gov and search for Publication 559.