Gift tax exclusion

The dollar amount one person can give another person in a calendar year without triggering federal gift-tax reporting, indexed and set annually by the IRS — $19,000 per recipient for 2025 (a married couple can combine to give $38,000 to one recipient). The limit is per giver, per recipient, so gifts to several people each get their own exclusion. Gifts above the annual exclusion require the donor to file a gift-tax return (Form 709), but actual tax is rarely owed because the excess simply counts against the donor's large lifetime exemption.