2025 Gift Tax Exclusion
The 2025 Gift Tax Exclusion is $19,000.
Effective 2025-01-01Source: Rev. Proc. 2024-40 (IRS)Verified 2026-09-01
Compared with 2024
| Item | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual exclusion per recipient | $18,000 | $19,000 | +$1,000 (+5.6%) |
Who it applies to
The exclusion belongs to the person making the gift, and it is measured against each recipient separately: the revenue procedure states the amount for gifts to any person, so a donor who gives to several recipients applies the figure to each of them rather than to the total given away. It covers present interests only; gifts of future interests in property are outside it. A gift to a spouse who is not a United States citizen falls under the separate, higher amount the same item states. Rev. Proc. 2024-40 sets the excluded amount and does not restate the filing, valuation or unified credit rules that surround § 2503.
What changed this year, and why
For calendar year 2025, Rev. Proc. 2024-40 provides that the first $19,000 of gifts to any person, other than gifts of future interests in property, are not included in the total amount of taxable gifts made during that year under § 2503. The amount is an inflation-adjusted item, generally determined by reference to § 1(f), and it is stated for a calendar year rather than for a taxable year. The same item of the revenue procedure states a separate and much larger exclusion for gifts to a spouse who is not a citizen of the United States, under § 2503 and § 2523.
Common questions
- How much can I give someone in 2025 without it counting as a taxable gift?
- For calendar year 2025 the first $19,000 of gifts to any person, other than gifts of future interests in property, are not included in the total amount of taxable gifts you made during that year under § 2503. Rev. Proc. 2024-40 states this as the annual exclusion for gifts. Anything above that first $19,000 to the same recipient is included in the total amount of taxable gifts for the year.
- Is the $19,000 annual gift exclusion per recipient or a yearly total?
- Per recipient. The revenue procedure states the exclusion as the first $19,000 of gifts to any person, so it is applied recipient by recipient rather than to everything you gave away during 2025. Rev. Proc. 2024-40 states no combined annual ceiling covering all of a donor's recipients together, and no reduced figure for a donor who gives to many people.
- What happens if I give one person more than $19,000 in 2025?
- Only the first $19,000 of gifts to that person is excluded. Under Rev. Proc. 2024-40 the excess is included in the total amount of taxable gifts you made during calendar year 2025 under § 2503. Being included in that total is what the revenue procedure states; it does not address whether tax is ultimately payable, which depends on other parts of the estate and gift tax rules that this document does not restate.
- Do gifts of future interests qualify for the annual exclusion?
- No. The exclusion in Rev. Proc. 2024-40 is stated for gifts to any person other than gifts of future interests in property, and that carve-out is written into the same sentence as the $19,000 figure. A transfer that gives the recipient only a future interest therefore does not draw on the annual exclusion at all, no matter how small it is. The revenue procedure does not define which interests are future interests.
- Does the $19,000 exclusion apply to a calendar year or a tax year?
- A calendar year. Rev. Proc. 2024-40 states the amount for calendar year 2025, and its effective date section carries the annual exclusion for gifts under the calendar year rule, applying the procedure to transactions or events occurring in calendar year 2025. Most other items in the same revenue procedure instead apply to taxable years beginning in 2025, so the gift exclusion is deliberately treated differently.
- What is the exclusion for a gift to a spouse who is not a US citizen?
- Rev. Proc. 2024-40 states it separately, and it is far larger than the $19,000 that applies to gifts to any other person. The larger figure appears in the same annual exclusion for gifts item, is stated for calendar year 2025, and is tied to § 2503 and § 2523. It also carries the same carve-out for gifts of future interests in property.
- Where does the $19,000 annual gift exclusion come from?
- It is the exclusion under § 2503 of the Internal Revenue Code, as adjusted for inflation. Rev. Proc. 2024-40 publishes the adjusted amount for calendar year 2025 in its annual exclusion for gifts item, and the procedure says the inflation-adjusted items it sets out are generally determined by reference to § 1(f). The figure is a statutory amount indexed, not a discretionary annual choice.
- Can spouses each use the $19,000 exclusion for the same recipient?
- Rev. Proc. 2024-40 states the exclusion for the first $19,000 of gifts to any person, and it states it once, for a donor. It does not describe gift splitting between spouses or set a doubled figure for a married couple. Whether two donors can each apply their own exclusion to the same recipient turns on rules elsewhere in the gift tax provisions that this revenue procedure does not restate.
Every amount on this page is a published figure rather than yours. The Annual gift tax exclusion calculator takes the number you enter and works it out against them, showing which published figure it used.
When a gift needs no return at all
You do not need to file a gift tax return (Form 709) if all three of the following conditions hold: you made no gifts during the year to your spouse; no single recipient received more than $19,000 in total gifts from you; and every gift you made was a present interest, meaning the donee had immediate use, possession, and enjoyment of the property. If even one gift falls outside these boundaries - for example, a gift to a single donee that exceeded $19,000, any gift made to your spouse that does not qualify for the marital deduction, or any future-interest gift of any dollar amount - you must file a return even if no tax is ultimately owed. Note also that deductible charitable gifts do not trigger a filing requirement as long as you transferred your entire interest to qualifying charities.
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 $19,000 to any one donee. • All the gifts you made were of present interests.
2025 Instructions for Form 709, United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return (IRS)
The gifts the exclusion does not cover
The $19,000 annual exclusion applies only to gifts of present interests - meaning the donee has immediate rights to use, possess, and enjoy the property or its income. A gift of a future interest cannot be excluded under the annual exclusion. A future interest exists when the donee's rights to use, possess, or enjoy the property will not begin until some future date; reversions, remainders, and similar estates are treated as future interests. The practical consequence is that even a small gift placed in a trust that does not give the beneficiary immediate access must be reported on Form 709, and it does not reduce the donor's annual exclusion amount. By contrast, a contribution to a qualified tuition program (QTP) on behalf of a designated beneficiary is treated as a present interest and can qualify for the exclusion.
A gift of a future interest cannot be excluded under the annual exclusion. A gift is considered a present interest if the donee has all immediate rights to the use, possession, and enjoyment of the property or income from the property. A gift is considered a future interest if the donee’s rights to the use, possession, and enjoyment of the property or income from the property will not begin until some future date. Future interests include reversions, remainders, and other similar interests or estates.
2025 Instructions for Form 709, United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return (IRS)
Who actually owes the gift tax
The general rule is that the person who makes the gift - the donor - is the one who owes any gift tax that results. If the donor fails to pay, however, the liability can shift to the donee, meaning the person who received the gift may have to pay the tax instead. The responsibility for filing the return follows the same pattern: each individual donor files their own Form 709; spouses cannot file jointly. If the donor dies before filing, the donor's executor steps in and must file the return on the donor's behalf. The rule that the donee may end up paying matters in practice because large or unusual gifts can leave the recipient with a tax bill if the donor does not satisfy the liability first.
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. • If a donor dies before filing a return, the donor’s executor must file the return.
2025 Instructions for Form 709, United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return (IRS)
Splitting a gift with your spouse
Married couples can elect to treat a gift made by one spouse as if it were made one-half by each. Once the election is made, it generally applies to all gifts made by either spouse to third-party donees during the year; the only exception is a gift over which the other spouse was given a general power of appointment. Because the election treats every gift as shared, both spouses must consent by signing the return, and spouses cannot file a joint gift tax return - each must file a separate Form 709 even if only one spouse made gifts. The election is made on the return itself, in the section labeled Part III (Spouse's Consent on Gifts to Third Parties). Reporting then follows a two-column pattern: the full value of each gift goes in one column, and the half treated as the consenting spouse's share goes in the Split Gifts column.
Generally, if you elect to split your gifts, you must split all gifts made by you and your spouse to third-party donees. The only exception is if you gave your spouse a general power of appointment over a gift you made.
2025 Instructions for Form 709, United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return (IRS)
When the return is due
Form 709 is an annual return covering gifts made during a single calendar year. For gifts made during 2025, the IRS requires you to file the return no earlier than January 1, 2026 and no later than April 15, 2026. If April 15 falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday, the due date shifts to the next business day under section 7503. This deadline is independent of the $19,000 annual exclusion per recipient; even if all of your gifts to a particular person fall below that threshold and no tax is owed, you may still need to file if other reporting requirements apply. If the donor dies during 2025, the executor must file the donor's 2025 Form 709 by the earlier of the estate tax return's due date (with extensions) or April 15, 2026 (or the extended due date for the gift tax return). An extension to file an income tax return automatically extends the gift tax return deadline as well, though it does not extend the time to pay any tax due.
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. However, in instances when April 15 falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, Form 709 will be due on the next business day.
2025 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. 2024-40 (IRS)
- Annual exclusion per recipient
For calendar year 2025, the first $19,000 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.