Annual Gift Tax Exclusion (2025)

• You can give up to $18,000 per recipient in 2025 without using any of your lifetime exemption.

• Married couples can combine their exclusions to give up to $36,000 per recipient.

  Example: A married couple could gift $36,000 each to three children and two grandchildren in 2025 — a total of $180,000 — without using any of their lifetime exemption.
  

Lifetime Estate & Gift Tax Exemption (2025)

• The combined federal lifetime exemption is $13.61 million per individual (or $27.22 million per married couple).

• Amounts above these limits may be subject to a federal estate or gift tax of up to 40%.
  

Other Key Notes

• Direct payments for tuition or medical expenses made on behalf of someone else are not subject to gift tax and do not count toward the annual exclusion.

• The exemption amounts are scheduled to sunset in 2026, reverting to roughly half their current levels unless Congress acts.