Gift Tax Calculator
See how much you can give each person in 2026 without reporting anything, what a larger gift takes off your lifetime exclusion, and whether any tax is actually payable — which, for almost everyone, it is not.
The number most people want
$19,000. That is what one person can give another in 2026 without reporting it, without paying anything, and without touching any lifetime allowance.
The word doing the work in that sentence is per recipient. The exclusion is not an annual budget you spend across everyone — it applies separately to every person you give to. Give $19,000 each to four children and nothing is reportable on $76,000 of transfers. If you are married and split gifts, the same four children can receive $38,000 each, and $152,000 moves with no return and no tax.
"Taxable gift" almost never means tax
Exceed the annual exclusion and the excess becomes a taxable gift. That sounds alarming and generally is not. A taxable gift is reported on a Form 709 and subtracted from your lifetime exclusion — the same $15,000,000 that applies at death — and gift tax only becomes payable once that lifetime figure is used up.
So giving a child $100,000 this year produces a filing obligation, uses $81,000 of a $15,000,000 lifetime allowance, and costs nothing. For the overwhelming majority of people the practical question is never "how much tax" but "do I need to file".
The exception matters for a small number of families: once cumulative lifetime taxable gifts pass the exclusion, gift tax is due at 40%, in cash, with the return.
What never counts at all
Three categories sit entirely outside the gift tax and are not limited by any amount:
- Gifts to your spouse, where they are a US citizen. Unlimited.
- Gifts to qualifying charities. Unlimited.
- Tuition and medical expenses — but only when paid directly to the institution or provider. This one has a trap in it: write the cheque to the university and an unlimited amount is excluded; give the same money to your grandchild to pay the university and it is an ordinary gift subject to the annual exclusion. The recipient of the payment, not the beneficiary of it, is what determines the treatment.
A worked example
A married couple give $50,000 to each of three children and elect to split the gifts. Splitting doubles the exclusion against each child to $38,000, so $12,000 per child is taxable — $36,000 in total, of which each spouse reports half.
Both file a Form 709. Each reports $18,000 of taxable gifts, each has $18,000 taken off their lifetime exclusion, and neither pays anything. $150,000 has moved to the next generation at a cost of two tax returns.
Had they not split, the taxable amount would have been $31,000 per child rather than $12,000 — the same $150,000, nearly three times the exclusion consumed.
Why the lifetime total is cumulative
Taxable gifts accumulate across your whole life, and each year's tax is computed on the running total with the tax on earlier years subtracted back out. That sounds like an accounting nicety and is actually the point: without it, a donor could restart at the bottom of the rate schedule every year and give away an unlimited amount at the 18% band.
The same cumulative total then feeds into the estate tax at death, which is what makes the gift tax and the estate tax one unified system rather than two. The estate tax calculator shows the other end of it.
Points worth knowing before giving
- The giver files, not the recipient. Receiving a gift is never taxable income, and the recipient reports nothing.
- Appreciated property carries your basis. Give shares rather than cash and the recipient inherits your original cost, so the capital gain moves with the asset rather than disappearing. Assets left at death get a stepped-up basis instead — which is a real argument for not giving certain things away during life.
- 529 plans can be front-loaded. An election lets five years of annual exclusions be used at once for education savings.
- Below-market loans to family can be gifts. Forgone interest below the applicable federal rate may be treated as one.
- A non-citizen spouse is different. The unlimited marital deduction does not apply; a separate, larger annual exclusion does. That 2026 figure could not be confirmed against a primary source and is therefore not published here.
See our methodology for how these tools are built and tested, and sources for every figure used.
Frequently asked questions
How much can I give someone in 2026 without telling the IRS?
$19,000 per recipient. A married couple who split gifts can give $38,000 to the same person with nothing to report.
There is no limit on how many people you can give to, and the exclusion resets every calendar year.
Does the recipient pay tax on a gift?
No. A gift is not income, and the recipient reports nothing and pays nothing.
Gift tax, in the rare cases it applies, is the giver's liability.
Do I have to file a return if no tax is due?
Yes, if any single recipient received more than the annual exclusion from you, or if you elected to split gifts with your spouse. The return records how much lifetime exclusion you have used, which is why it is required even when nothing is payable.
Splitting triggers the requirement by itself: both spouses must file, even where each half falls under the exclusion.
What counts as a gift?
Any transfer where you do not receive equal value back. Cash, property, an interest-free loan, selling something to a family member below market value, or adding someone to a bank account can all qualify.
Paying an adult child's rent or credit card bill is a gift. Ordinary support of a minor child you are legally obliged to support is not.
Is it better to give now or leave it in my estate?
It depends on the asset. Giving removes future growth from your estate, which is the strongest argument for it. But gifted assets keep your cost basis, while inherited assets are stepped up to their value at death, erasing the accrued gain.
Highly appreciated assets are therefore often better left; cash and assets expected to grow sharply are often better given. This is worth a conversation with an adviser rather than a rule of thumb.
Can I pay my grandchild's college tuition on top of the annual exclusion?
Yes, without limit — provided you pay the institution directly. Paid that way it is not a gift at all, and you can still give the annual exclusion amount separately in the same year.
Give the money to your grandchild to pay the bill and the exclusion no longer applies. The distinction is who receives the payment.
Related calculators
This calculator is provided for general educational and estimation purposes only. It does not constitute tax, legal, accounting, or estate planning advice. Gift tax treatment depends on the nature of the transfer, its valuation, and elections not modelled here, and gifts of appreciated property carry consequences beyond gift tax. Consult a qualified tax professional before making substantial gifts. Calc365 is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by any government agency.