How this number is made
Gifts over the annual exclusion generally count against the lifetime exemption or require a return. The exclusion amount is indexed and is an input. The default of $19,000 is a recent figure, not a promise about the year of your gift. Spouses splitting a gift, and gifts of tuition or medical bills paid directly, follow extra rules this page does not apply.
- The exclusion is per recipient, per year, in the usual rule.
- Confirm the year’s exclusion before you rely on the default.
Formula
Amount over the exclusion = gift − exclusion, and not below zero.
Worked example
With the figures already in the form, over the exclusion you typed is $11,000.
Questions
Is the default this year’s number?
Treat $19,000 as a placeholder from the recent exclusion. Look up the year of the gift.
Does the recipient pay tax?
Generally the giver is the one who files, and tax is uncommon because of the lifetime exemption. This page does not compute that exemption.