2020 Gift Tax Exclusion
The 2020 Gift Tax Exclusion is $15,000.
Effective 2020-01-01Source: Rev. Proc. 2019-44 (IRS)Verified 2026-08-29
Compared with 2019
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2019.
| Item | 2019 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual exclusion per recipient | $15,000 | $15,000 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Taxpayers making gifts during the 2020 calendar year
What changed this year, and why
For 2020, the annual exclusion for gifts under § 2503 is $15,000 per recipient. A donor may give up to $15,000 to each donee during the calendar year without the gift counting toward the donor's taxable gifts. This exclusion does not apply to gifts of future interests in property.
Common questions
- Is the exclusion per donor or per couple?
- The annual exclusion is per recipient, per donor. A donor may give up to $15,000 to each recipient without filing a gift tax return. There is no limit on the number of recipients.
When a gift needs no return at all
You can skip filing Form 709 entirely if three conditions are all met at once: you made no gifts to your spouse during the year, no single donee received more than $15,000 from you, and every gift you made was a present interest. If any one of these fails, you must file a return even when no tax is owed. The $15,000 limit is the 2020 annual exclusion per recipient. The present-interest requirement is separate from the dollar cap; a gift worth far less than $15,000 still has to be reported if the recipient cannot enjoy it right away. Note also that even when all three conditions hold, if the only gifts you made are deductible charitable transfers, you are not required to file as long as you gave your entire interest in the property to qualified charities. Transfers that do not count as gifts at all, such as direct payments of tuition or medical bills, do not trigger a filing requirement.
Who does not need to file. If you meet all of the following requirements, you are not required to file Form 709. • You made no gifts during the year to your spouse. • You did not give more than $15,000 to any one donee. • All the gifts you made were of present interests.
2020 Instructions for Form 709, United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return (IRS)
The gifts the exclusion does not cover
The annual exclusion of $15,000 per recipient only applies to gifts of present interests. A present interest means the donee has the immediate right to use, possess, and enjoy the property or its income. If the donee's rights to use or enjoy the property do not begin until some future date, the gift is classified as a future interest and cannot be excluded under the annual exclusion. This means you must file Form 709 to report a gift of a future interest even if its value is below $15,000. Future interests include reversions, remainders, and similar estates where the recipient cannot take possession right away. A contribution to a qualified tuition program on behalf of a designated beneficiary is treated as a present interest, as is a gift to a minor when certain conditions are met.
A gift of a future interest cannot be excluded under the annual exclusion.
2020 Instructions for Form 709, United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return (IRS)
Who actually owes the gift tax
The gift tax falls on the person making the gift, not the person receiving it. The donor is the one who must pay any gift tax due. However, if the donor fails to pay, the recipient may become liable for the tax instead. This is a one-way shift: the donee only pays if the donor defaults. The donor's obligation is separate from the filing requirement, which generally applies whenever a donor gives more than $15,000 to any one donee in a year or makes gifts of future interests. If a donor dies before filing or paying, the donor's executor steps into the donor's shoes and must file the return. The executor has the same responsibility to account for and settle any tax owed as the donor would have had while alive.
The donor is responsible for paying the gift tax. However, if the donor does not pay the tax, the person receiving the gift may have to pay the tax.
2020 Instructions for Form 709, United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return (IRS)
Splitting a gift with your spouse
A married person and their spouse can choose to treat all gifts either of them makes to third parties during the year as if each spouse gave half. This means one spouse can give more than the annual exclusion amount, and if they elect to split, no gift tax return is needed for those gifts (unless other filing requirements apply). Both spouses must consent to the election, and they must have been married to each other at the time of each gift. Each spouse files their own Form 709, but they should file both returns together in the same envelope.
Lines 12–18. Split Gifts A married couple may not file a joint gift tax return. However, if after reading the instructions below, you and your spouse agree to split your gifts, you should file both of your individual gift tax returns together (that is, in the same envelope) to help the IRS process the returns and to avoid correspondence from the IRS.
2020 Instructions for Form 709, United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return (IRS)
When the return is due
Form 709 covers one calendar year at a time. You may file it as early as January 1 of the year after the gifts were made, and it must be filed no later than April 15 of that same year. If April 15 falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday, the deadline shifts to the next business day. When the donor dies during the year, the executor must file the donor's return by the earlier of the estate tax return due date (including extensions) or the gift tax return due date (April 15, 2021, or its extension). An extension of time to file is available through two methods but does not extend the time to pay any tax owed.
Form 709 is an annual return. Generally, you must file Form 709 no earlier than January 1, but not later than April 15, of the year after the gift was made.
2020 Instructions for Form 709, United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return (IRS)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
Rev. Proc. 2019-44 (IRS)
- Annual exclusion per recipient
For calendar year 2020, the first $15,000 of gifts to any person (other than gifts of future interests in property) are not included in the total amount of taxable gifts under § 2503 made during that year.