Gift tax limit for 2026: the annual exclusion
In 2026 anyone can give $19,000 to as many people as they like without filing anything. Enter a gift to see how much of it is above the limit and what that excess does.
- Per recipient, 2026
- $19,000
- Couple splitting
- $38,000
- Noncitizen spouse
- $194,000
- 2024 limit
- $18,000
Taxable gift for 2026
$6,000
Form 709 due April 15, 2027. No tax: it uses $6,000 of the $15,000,000 lifetime exclusion.
| Annual exclusion that applies | $19,000 |
| Taxable gift | $6,000 |
| Lifetime exclusion left | $14,994,000 |
| Connecticut gift tax return | not needed |
Tuition paid to a school and medical bills paid to the provider are not gifts at all (26 U.S.C. 2503(e)).
Compiled by Radif Partners · How we calculate · figures read on the state revenue department, the statute and irs.gov · not legal or tax advice
The annual gift tax exclusion is $19,000 per recipient for gifts made in 2026, the same as in 2025 and up from $18,000 in 2024, as set by Rev. Proc. 2025-32. It applies separately to each person who receives a gift, so a donor with 3 married children can give $114,000 to the six of them in one year with no return. Spouses who elect to split their gifts double the limit to $38,000 per recipient, but must file Form 709 to make the election. Gifts to a spouse who is a US citizen are unlimited; gifts to a spouse who is not a citizen are excluded up to $194,000 in 2026. Going above the limit is not a tax event in itself: the excess is a taxable gift, reported by April 15 of the next year, which reduces the $15,000,000 lifetime exclusion. Only gifts of present interests qualify, so most gifts in trust need a closer look.
The limit, year by year
The exclusion was set at $10,000 in section 2503(b) and is indexed for inflation, rounded down to a multiple of $1,000. That rounding is why it often stays flat: the 2026 calculation did not reach the next step, so the limit stayed at $19,000. The IRS publishes the amount for each year in the revenue procedure on inflation adjustments, Rev. Proc. 2025-32 for 2026 and Rev. Proc. 2024-40 for 2025.
| Year of gift | Per recipient | Couple splitting | Spouse not a US citizen |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $19,000 | $38,000 | $194,000 |
| 2025 | $19,000 | $38,000 | $190,000 |
| 2024 | $18,000 | $36,000 | $185,000 |
Per recipient, not per donor
The limit counts what one donor gives to one recipient during the calendar year. A grandmother can give $19,000 to each of her eight grandchildren and to each of their parents, and none of it is a taxable gift. Gifts to the same person add up over the year: a check of $10,000 in March and another of $10,000 in December total $20,000, which is $1,000 over the limit. The year resets on January 1, so a donor can give $19,000 on December 31 and $19,000 again on January 2.
How much of a gift is above the limit?
Taxable gift for 2026
$6,000
| Annual exclusion that applies | $19,000 |
| Taxable gift | $6,000 |
| Lifetime exclusion left | $14,994,000 |
| Connecticut gift tax return | not needed |
Above the limit: a form, not a bill
A gift of $25,000 to one person in 2026 is a taxable gift of $6,000. The donor reports it on Form 709 by April 15, 2027. No tax is paid: the return applies the unified credit, and the donor's remaining lifetime exclusion becomes $14,994,000. Tax at 40 % begins only when lifetime taxable gifts pass $15,000,000. At death the gifts above the limit are added back to the estate, so going over simply moves part of the exclusion from the estate to the gift. Gifts below the limit, by contrast, are gone from both: they never count anywhere, which is why repeated annual gifts are the simplest way to reduce an estate. The gift tax page follows the larger gifts.
Splitting with a spouse
A married donor can ask the spouse to consent to treat all gifts to third parties during the year as made half by each, under section 2513. One spouse can then write a check of $38,000 to a child with nothing taxable. Conditions, from the Form 709 instructions: both spouses must be married to each other when the gift is made, the consent covers every gift of the year to third parties, and it is given on Form 709, signed by the consenting spouse. In most cases both spouses file their own return, even though no tax is due, because the election itself requires the form.
Gifts to a spouse
Gifts to a husband or wife who is a US citizen are deducted without limit: no exclusion is needed and no return is filed. If the spouse is not a citizen, the marital deduction does not apply in the same way, and the exclusion is raised to $194,000 for 2026 ($190,000 in 2025). The page on noncitizen spouses covers the estate side, where the rules are stricter.
Present interests and gifts in trust
The exclusion applies only to gifts the recipient can use now. Cash, shares transferred outright and a deeded property are present interests. A transfer to a trust that holds the money until the beneficiary turns 35 is a future interest: it gets no exclusion, and the donor files Form 709 even for a small amount. In a trust where several beneficiaries have a present interest, each counts as a separate recipient for the exclusion. Whether a given trust qualifies depends on its terms, which the Form 709 instructions examine at length.
What the limit does not cover
Tuition paid directly to a school and medical bills paid directly to a provider are outside the gift tax altogether, in addition to the $19,000. Gifts to charity are deductible. And the federal limit says nothing about state rules: Connecticut has its own gift tax, and several states add recent gifts back to the estate at death (gifts and state estate taxes). The amounts on this page are read on the IRS gift tax questions.