The applicable exclusion amount consists of the basic exclusion amount ($12,920,000 in 2023) and, in the case of a surviving spouse, any unused exclusion amount of the last deceased spouse (who died after December 31, 2010). The executor of the predeceased spouse's estate must have elected on a timely and complete Form 706 to allow the donor to use the predeceased spouse's unused exclusion amount.
Digital assets. A new question regarding digital assets appears on Line 20. See Digital assets and Line 20. Digital Assets, later, for information on transfers involving digital assets. Do not leave this question unanswered. The question must be answered by all taxpayers, not just taxpayers who made transfers involving digital assets.
The IRS is a proud partner with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). Photographs of missing children selected by the Center may appear in instructions on pages that would otherwise be blank. You can help bring these children home by looking at the photographs and calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) if you recognize a child.
If you gave gifts to someone in 2023 totaling more than $17,000 (other than to your spouse), you probably must file Form 709. But see Transfers Not Subject to the Gift Tax and Gifts to Your Spouse, later, for more information on specific gifts that are not taxable.
If a gift is of community property, it is considered made one-half by each spouse. For example, a gift of $100,000 of community property is considered a gift of $50,000 made by each spouse, and each spouse must file a gift tax return.
Only individuals are required to file gift tax returns. If a trust, estate, partnership, or corporation makes a gift, the individual beneficiaries, partners, or stockholders are considered donors and may be liable for the gift and GST taxes.
If the only gifts you made during the year are deductible as gifts to charities, you do not need to file a return as long as you transferred your entire interest in the property to qualifying charities. If you transferred only a partial interest, or transferred part of your interest to someone other than a charity, you must still file a return and report all of your gifts to charities.
The gift tax applies to transfers of digital assets. Digital assets are any digital representations of value that are recorded on a cryptographically secured distributed ledger or any similar technology. For example, digital assets include non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and virtual currencies, such as cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. If a particular asset has the characteristics of a digital asset, it will be treated as a digital asset for federal transfer tax purposes.
You must file a gift tax return if you made any gift to your spouse of a terminable interest that does not meet the exception described in Life estate with power of appointment, later, or if your spouse is not a U.S. citizen and the total gifts you made to your spouse during the year exceed $175,000.
The gift tax does not apply to an amount you paid on behalf of an individual to a qualifying domestic or foreign educational organization as tuition for the education or training of the individual. A qualifying educational organization is one that normally maintains a regular faculty and curriculum and normally has a regularly enrolled body of pupils or students in attendance at the place where its educational activities are regularly carried on. See section 170(b)(1)(A)(ii) and its regulations.
The gift tax does not apply to an amount you paid on behalf of an individual to a person or institution that provided medical care for the individual. The payment must be to the care provider. The medical care must meet the requirements of section 213(d) (definition of medical care for income tax deduction purposes). Medical care includes expenses incurred for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or for the purpose of affecting any structure or function of the body, or for transportation primarily for and essential to medical care. Medical care also includes amounts paid for medical insurance on behalf of any individual.
A donee's refusal to accept a gift is called a disclaimer. If a person makes a qualified disclaimer of any interest in property, the property will be treated as if it had never been transferred to that person. Accordingly, the disclaimant is not regarded as making a gift to the person who receives the property because of the qualified disclaimer.
The refusal must be received by the donor, the legal representative of the donor, the holder of the legal title to the property disclaimed, or the person in possession of the property within 9 months after the later of:
The first $17,000 of gifts of present interest to each donee during the calendar year is subtracted from total gifts in figuring the amount of taxable gifts. For a gift in trust, each beneficiary of the trust is treated as a separate donee for purposes of the annual exclusion.
Nonresidents not citizens of the United States are subject to gift and GST taxes for gifts of tangible property situated in the United States. A person is considered a nonresident not a citizen of the United States if, at the time the gift is made, (1) was not a citizen of the United States and did not reside there, or (2) was domiciled in a U.S. territory and acquired citizenship solely by reason of birth or residence in the territory. Under certain circumstances, they are also subject to gift and GST taxes for gifts of intangible property. See section 2501(a).
Certain transfers receive special treatment if the transferred property is subject to an ETIP. An ETIP is the period during which, should the donor die, the value of transferred property would be includible (other than by reason of section 2035) in the gross estate of the donor or the spouse of the donor. For transfers subject to an ETIP, GST tax reporting is required at the close of the ETIP.
There are two methods of extending the time to file the gift tax return. Neither method extends the time to pay the gift or GST taxes. If you want an extension of time to pay the gift or GST taxes, you must request that separately. See Regulations section 25.6161-1.
Any extension of time granted for filing your calendar year 2023 federal income tax return will also automatically extend the time to file your 2023 federal gift tax return. Income tax extensions are made by using Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, or Form 2350, Application for Extension of Time To File U.S. Income Tax Return. You may only use these forms to extend the time for filing your gift tax return if you are also requesting an extension of time to file your income tax return.
If you do not request an extension for your income tax return, use Form 8892, Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File Form 709 and/or Payment of Gift/Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax, to request an automatic 6-month extension of time to file your federal gift tax return. In addition to containing an extension request, Form 8892 also serves as a payment voucher (Form 8892-V) for a balance due on federal gift taxes for which you are extending the time to file. For more information, see Form 8892.
If the property is transferred in trust, the trust's employer identification number (EIN) and a brief description of the terms of the trust (or a copy of the trust instrument in lieu of the description).
If you receive a notice about penalties after you file Form 709, send an explanation and we will determine if you meet reasonable-cause criteria. Do not attach an explanation when you file Form 709.
There are also penalties for willful failure to file a return on time, willful attempt to evade or defeat payment of tax, and valuation understatements that cause an underpayment of the tax. A substantial valuation understatement occurs when the reported value of property entered on Form 709 is 65% or less of the actual value of the property. A gross valuation understatement occurs when the reported value listed on the Form 709 is 40% or less of the actual value of the property.
If you buy property with your own funds and the title to the property is held by you and a donee as joint tenants with right of survivorship and if either you or the donee may give up those rights by severing your interest, you have made a gift to the donee in the amount of half the value of the property.
If you received a qualified terminable interest (see Line 12. Election Out of QTIP Treatment of Annuities in the instructions for Schedule A, later) from your spouse for which a marital deduction was elected on your spouse's estate or gift tax return, you will be subject to the gift tax (and GST tax, if applicable) if you dispose of all or part of your life income interest (by gift, sale, or otherwise).
Enter your social security number (SSN), if applicable, or your individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN), but only if you have previously used the ITIN to file other U.S. tax returns. If you do not have an SSN or a previously used ITIN, the IRS will assign an Internal Revenue Service Number (IRSN) to you. If you have already been assigned an IRSN, please enter the number on line 3. If you do not have a SSN, ITIN, or IRSN, leave line 3 blank.
If your address is outside of the United States or its territories, enter the information as follows: city, province or state, and name of country. Follow the country's practice for entering the postal code. Do not abbreviate the country name.
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.
The consent may not be signed after April 15 following the end of the year in which the gift was made. But if neither you nor your spouse has filed a gift tax return for the year on or before that date, the consent must be made on the first gift tax return for the year filed by either of you.
7fc3f7cf58