Gift Tax Calculator
Find out if your gift qualifies for the 2025 annual exclusion of $19,000 per recipient, how much counts against your $13,990,000 lifetime exemption, and whether any gift tax is actually owed.
Total value of the gift to one recipient this calendar year.
Total cumulative taxable gifts from prior years that have already used part of your $13,990,000 lifetime exemption.
No Gift Tax Due
This gift is fully covered by the annual exclusion and/or lifetime exemption.
Gift Tax Breakdown
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gift Amount | $25,000.00 |
| Annual Exclusion Applied (2025: $19,000) | $19,000.00 |
| Taxable Gift (this year) | $6,000.00 |
| Lifetime Exemption Used | $6,000.00 |
| Remaining Lifetime Exemption | $13,984,000.00 |
| Gift Tax Due | $0.00 |
Gift tax is typically paid by the donor, not the recipient.
How to Use This Calculator
- 1Gift Amount
Enter the total dollar value of the gift to one recipient during the calendar year. The annual exclusion applies per recipient, so this is for a single recipient.
- 2Recipient Type
Select whether you are gifting to an individual, a US citizen spouse (unlimited marital deduction — no gift tax), or a qualified charity (unlimited charitable deduction — no gift tax).
- 3Prior Taxable Gifts
Enter the total of prior taxable gifts you have made in previous years that already used part of your lifetime exemption. This reduces your remaining exemption for this gift.
- 4Gift Splitting (Married)
If you are married, you can elect to split gifts with your spouse, which effectively doubles the annual exclusion to $38,000 per recipient. Both spouses must consent by filing Form 709.
How Gift Tax Is Calculated
The US gift tax is paid by the donor, not the recipient. Most gifts never trigger actual tax because they either fall under the annual exclusion or are absorbed by the lifetime exemption. Gift tax only becomes due when a donor has exhausted their entire $13,990,000 lifetime exemption.
Annual Exclusion
2025 limit: $19,000/recipient
Gift splitting: $38,000/recipient
Taxable Gift = max(0,
Gift − Annual Exclusion)You can give up to $19,000 to as many people as you want each year with no gift tax reporting required (below $19,000). Above the exclusion, the excess is taxable but still likely covered by your lifetime exemption.
Lifetime Exemption
2025 exemption: $13,990,000
Remaining = Exemption
− Prior Gifts
Tax = 0 if Taxable Gift
≤ Remaining ExemptionThe lifetime exemption is unified with the estate tax exemption. Gifts that use the exemption reduce the amount available to shield your estate from estate tax.
Gift Tax Rates
18% on first $10,000
20–34% on $10K–$500K
37–39% on $500K–$1M
40% over $1,000,000Gift tax rates are progressive and apply only to the amount over your remaining lifetime exemption. Very few donors ever pay gift tax outright.
Exempt Gifts
Spouse (US citizen): unlimited
Charity: unlimited
Direct tuition payments:
unlimited (paid to school)
Medical payments: unlimitedCertain transfers are completely exempt from gift tax regardless of amount. Direct payments to educational institutions and medical providers bypass both the annual exclusion and lifetime exemption entirely.
Frequently Asked Questions
The annual gift tax exclusion for 2025 is $19,000 per recipient. This means you can give up to $19,000 to any one person — a child, friend, sibling, or anyone else — during the calendar year without triggering any gift tax reporting or liability. The exclusion applies per recipient, not in total, so you can give $19,000 to 10 different people and still owe no gift tax on any of those gifts. The annual exclusion is adjusted periodically for inflation by the IRS. In 2024, the limit was $18,000. If you are married and elect gift splitting, the effective exclusion doubles to $38,000 per recipient.
Yes. If you give any single recipient more than the $19,000 annual exclusion in a calendar year (or more than $38,000 with gift splitting), you are generally required to file IRS Form 709, the United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return, even if no tax is actually owed. Filing Form 709 is how you formally report the taxable gift and elect to apply part of your lifetime exemption against it. Failing to file when required can result in penalties. Note that some transfers never require reporting: gifts to a US citizen spouse, direct tuition payments to educational institutions, and direct medical payments to care providers are completely exempt and do not require a Form 709.
The 2025 lifetime gift tax exemption is $13,990,000. This is the cumulative total of taxable gifts you can make over your entire lifetime without owing federal gift tax. It is unified with the estate tax exemption, meaning gifts that use part of the lifetime exemption reduce the exemption available to shield your estate from estate tax at death. For example, if you make $2,000,000 in taxable gifts over your lifetime, your remaining estate tax exemption is reduced by $2,000,000. Gift tax is only actually owed when the total of all taxable gifts exceeds your lifetime exemption — a threshold very few people reach. The lifetime exemption is scheduled to be cut roughly in half (adjusted for inflation) when the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provisions expire after December 31, 2025, unless Congress acts.
Gift splitting is an election that allows married couples to treat a gift made by one spouse as if each spouse made half of it. This effectively doubles the annual exclusion from $19,000 to $38,000 per recipient for a married couple, even if the gift came entirely from one spouse's funds. To elect gift splitting, both spouses must consent on a timely filed Form 709 for the year the gift was made. Gift splitting also means each spouse uses half of their individual lifetime exemption for any taxable portion of the split gift. This can be a powerful planning tool for high-net-worth couples who want to transfer wealth to children or heirs while minimizing gift tax exposure.
Generally, no. Gifts to a US citizen spouse qualify for the unlimited marital deduction, meaning you can give an unlimited amount to your US citizen spouse without any gift tax, with no reporting required and no impact on your lifetime exemption. However, gifts to a non-US-citizen spouse are subject to a separate (lower) annual exclusion — $185,000 in 2025 — rather than the unlimited marital deduction. Additionally, gifts of future interests (like certain trusts) to a spouse may not qualify for the unlimited deduction. Consult an estate planning attorney if your spouse is not a US citizen or if your gift involves complex trust structures.
The current $13,990,000 lifetime gift and estate tax exemption (2025) was established by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which roughly doubled the prior exemption. These elevated exemption amounts are scheduled to expire — or 'sunset' — on January 1, 2026, at which point the exemption is expected to revert to approximately $7 million (adjusted for inflation from the pre-TCJA baseline of $5 million). Congress can extend or permanently raise the exemption, but as of now no legislation to do so has been enacted. The IRS has confirmed via proposed regulations that gifts made under the current higher exemption will not be 'clawed back' into an estate if the exemption later decreases — meaning gifts made before the sunset date can lock in the higher exemption permanently. This creates a planning opportunity for high-net-worth individuals to make large gifts before the end of 2025.
Related Calculators
Estate Tax Calculator
Calculate federal and state estate tax liability using the 2025 permanent $13.99M exemption. Includes portability, marital deduction, and all 12 states with estate taxes.
Capital Gains Tax Calculator
Estimate 2024 federal and state capital gains tax on stocks, real estate, crypto, and collectibles. Includes NIIT surcharge.
Tax Refund Calculator
Estimate your 2024 federal tax refund or amount owed using accurate brackets, standard deductions, Child Tax Credit, and your withholding.