How much, and to whom
For 2026 the annual exclusion is $19,000 per recipient (IRC § 2503(b), as adjusted for inflation by Rev. Proc. 2025-32). In 2026, up to $19,000 of present-interest gifts to each recipient can qualify for the annual exclusion. But an annual-exclusion gift is not automatically exempt from reporting: Form 709 may still be required for gift splitting, future interests, the five-year § 529 election, QTIP or other elections, or when the donor has other reportable gifts. Subject to those triggers, you can give $19,000 to each of as many people as you like — every child, grandchild, friend — free of gift tax. The exclusion is per giver and per recipient, so two spouses can give $38,000 to the same person, and the amount resets every January 1. The exclusion is indexed for inflation from a $10,000 statutory base and rises only in $1,000 increments, so it holds flat for years at a time; it was $19,000 in 2025 and remains $19,000 in 2026.
The present-interest requirement
The one condition: the exclusion applies only to a gift of a present interest — the recipient must have an immediate, unrestricted right to use, possess, or enjoy the property (§ 2503(b); Treas. Reg. § 25.2503-3). An outright gift of cash or stock qualifies automatically. A gift into a trust normally does not, because the beneficiary’s enjoyment is postponed — which is exactly the problem the Crummey withdrawal right solves, covered in our Crummey letters page. If you are gifting through a trust, the present-interest rule is the first thing to get right.
Gift-splitting between spouses
Spouses can elect to treat a gift made by either of them as made one-half by each — “gift-splitting” under IRC § 2513. That lets one spouse’s gift use both spouses’ annual exclusions, effectively doubling the tax-free amount to $38,000 per recipient for 2026 even when the money came entirely from one of them. Gift-splitting is not automatic: it requires the consent of both spouses, made on a gift-tax return (Form 709). Spouses who elect gift splitting generally each file Form 709 or provide the required consent under the regulations (Treas. Reg. § 25.2513-2).
The unlimited tuition and medical exclusion
Separate from the $19,000 allowance — and stacked on top of it — is an unlimited exclusion for amounts you pay directly to a school for someone’s tuition or to a provider for someone’s medical care (IRC § 2503(e)). Tuition qualifies for the separate IRC § 2503(e) exclusion only when paid directly to the educational institution and only for tuition. Qualifying medical expenses, including qualifying health-insurance premiums, must be paid directly to the provider or insurer. Pay a grandchild’s college tuition by writing the check to the university, and it is not a gift at all — no dollar limit, and it does not touch the annual exclusion or the lifetime exemption. The catch is in the word directly: the payment must go to the institution, not to the student or patient. Reimbursing the family afterward does not qualify. This is one of the most efficient wealth-transfer tools in the Code and among the least used.
Gifts to a non-citizen spouse
Gifts between spouses are normally unlimited under the marital deduction — but that unlimited treatment does not apply when the recipient spouse is not a U.S. citizen. Instead, gifts to a non-citizen spouse get their own enlarged annual exclusion: for 2026 it is $194,000 (IRC § 2523(i); Rev. Proc. 2025-32), up from $190,000 in 2025. It is a generous allowance, but a limit nonetheless, and couples in this situation plan around it deliberately.
When you actually have to file
You file a federal gift-tax return (Form 709) for a year in which you make a gift to any one person that exceeds the annual exclusion, elect to split gifts with a spouse, make a gift of a future interest, use the five-year § 529 election, make a QTIP or other election, or have other reportable gifts. Filing a return does not mean paying tax: gifts above the annual exclusion simply reduce your lifetime exemption, and no gift tax is due until cumulative taxable gifts exceed that exemption (IRC § 2010). The return is how the IRS tracks the running total against your exemption — reporting, not a bill, for all but the largest givers. How that lifetime exemption works is covered on the lifetime-exemption page.
Sources & methodology
Methodology & sources
Primary sources are cited in place: IRC § 2503(b) and (e), § 2513, § 2523(i), and § 2010 (U.S. House Office of the Law Revision Counsel) and Treas. Reg. § 25.2513-2 (eCFR), with the 2026 dollar figures from Rev. Proc. 2025-32. Statutory links point to the official government source rather than an unofficial mirror. The $19,000 annual exclusion and $194,000 non-citizen-spouse exclusion are 2026 amounts, re-verified on each annual adjustment. See our editorial standards.
This page is educational and is not legal or tax advice. Gift reporting and elections turn on your specific facts; use this to understand the mechanics and confirm the details with a qualified tax professional.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
Corrections & updates
- — Legal-accuracy corrections applied and verified against official primary sources (Wave E-1 correction pass): qualified the \"nothing to report\" language to note that an annual-exclusion gift can still require Form 709 (gift splitting, future interests, the five-year § 529 election, QTIP or other elections, or other reportable gifts); tied the exclusion to present-interest gifts; stated gift-splitting consent and separate-return mechanics under IRC § 2513 and Treas. Reg. § 25.2513-2; and clarified that the § 2503(e) tuition exclusion covers only tuition paid directly to the institution while the medical exclusion covers qualifying expenses, including qualifying health-insurance premiums, paid directly to the provider or insurer. Statutory links repointed to official government sources.
- — Re-review pass: deleted the superseded 'report-free' categorical in the standfirst and softened the 'most-used/most-misunderstood' superlative; de-duplicated the repeated Form 709 sentence so the return discussion reads once and completely.
- — Reviewer attribution activated (Evan Miller, Esq., Florida Bar No. 112646) and the page-level and related-card verification dates refreshed to July 29, 2026, per the signed Final URL Approval Memorandum.