Assumptions
- 2026 federal tax for US citizens or residents, for present-interest gifts of cash or marketable assets to non-spouse recipients.
- Results are for one donor. When splitting, enter the total gift and only this donor’s earlier taxable gifts and credit. Calculate the other spouse separately.
- Blank prior credit assumes earlier gifts used credit up to the current credit limit. For historical tax-paid cases, supply the redetermined Schedule B credit.
- The calculation does not model pre-1977 specific exemptions, foreign tax credits, GST tax, DSUE or restored exclusions.
- Direct payments of tuition and medical expenses, which are excluded without limit, are not modelled.
- The non-citizen spouse exclusion and gifts in trust follow different rules than this calculator applies.
- Inputs stay in your browser and are never stored or transmitted.
How it is calculated
- Gift splitting assigns half of each gift to this donor, then applies the $19,000 annual exclusion per recipient.
- Anything above that is a taxable gift and is added to gifts reported in earlier years.
- Tentative tax on prior gifts is subtracted from tentative tax on cumulative gifts to isolate the current year.
- The remaining applicable credit after prior-period use is applied to this year’s tax; the unused credit and estimated current-year tax are displayed.
Examples
Common mistakes
- Reporting is not the same as paying. A Form 709 filing can be required even when the calculation shows no tax, especially with gift splitting.
- Pay schools and hospitals directly if you want the unlimited education and medical exclusions.
- Gifts of property need a valuation and gifts of a future interest do not qualify for the annual exclusion at all.
FAQ
How much can I give without any paperwork?
For 2026 the annual exclusion remains $19,000 per recipient per year. You can give that much to as many different people as you like with no return and no effect on your lifetime exclusion. Gift splitting can cover $38,000 per recipient across two donors, but it requires consent and Form 709. A consenting spouse may qualify for an exception to filing their own return.
What happens above the annual exclusion?
The excess is reported on Form 709 and reduces your lifetime exclusion, which is $15,000,000 for 2026. This estimate applies the available credit to current-year tentative tax. Earlier tax payments and credit history can change the result. So giving a child $100,000 means reporting $81,000 and paying nothing, while the exclusion available to your estate drops by the same $81,000.
Who pays the tax, the giver or the receiver?
The person making the gift is liable for gift tax and for filing the return. Ordinary gifts are generally excluded from the recipient’s income. Income later earned from the gifted property and foreign-gift reporting have separate rules.
Does paying someone's tuition or medical bills count?
Not if you pay the institution directly. Tuition paid straight to a school and medical expenses paid straight to a provider are excluded entirely, on top of the annual exclusion, with no dollar limit. Handing the money to the student to pay the bill does not qualify.
What about a spouse who is not a US citizen?
Gifts between citizen spouses are unlimited. Where the recipient spouse is not a US citizen the annual exclusion is $194,000 for 2026 instead. This calculator uses the ordinary per-recipient exclusion, it does not calculate spousal gifts. Use the IRS instructions for those gifts rather than adjusting the ordinary annual exclusion.
Is anything I type sent anywhere?
No. The whole calculation runs in this page and the figures never leave your device.