How much can I gift to my children legally for income tax purposes?
Hi Newbie, In order to bypass having to file a gift tax return (IRS Form 709) your gifts to each individual must be $12,000 or less. If you gift more (unless you meet one or the exceptions) you have to file this very simple form. Note that if you are married both you and your spouse have a $12,000 exemption so you can make joint gifts to the same individual of up to $24,000. If your estate is under $1,000,000 I would not be too concerned about gifting over the $30,000 per child (unless you had 100 children). All it means is that for each individual you gifted over the $12,000 limit that amount reduces the amount your estate’s exempt value. My feeling is, hey, your’e dead. Who gives a crap about estate taxes. You gave your heirs something while you were living. It the IRS takes some of it away after you did so be it. BEGGARS CAN NOT BE CHOOSERS! Note that there are several exceptions to the $12,000 limit and that includes unlimited spousal transfers, gifts of medical care directly to th
