Gift Tax Annual Exclusion Calculator
The federal gift tax annual exclusion lets you give a set amount to each recipient every year without using your lifetime exemption or filing a gift tax return for that gift. Married couples can elect gift splitting to effectively double the exclusion per recipient. This calculator takes the per-donee exclusion, the gift you made to one person, the number of recipients, and whether you split gifts with a spouse, then shows the available exclusion, the taxable gift above it, and the total you can give across all recipients tax-free. Confirm the current exclusion amount with the IRS.
Annual exclusion formula
Available per donee = exclusion * (2 if gift splitting else 1)
Taxable per recipient = max(0, gift - available per donee)
Tax-free per recipient = min(gift, available per donee)
Total tax-free = tax-free per recipient * recipients
Total taxable = taxable per recipient * recipients
Taxable gifts above the exclusion reduce your lifetime exemption and generally require a gift tax return. Actual tax is usually due only after cumulative taxable gifts exceed the lifetime exemption.
US gift tax context
- The annual exclusion is per donee, so it resets for each recipient every calendar year.
- Gift splitting lets a married couple treat a gift as made half by each, doubling the exclusion.
- Gifts to a U.S. citizen spouse generally qualify for the unlimited marital deduction.
- Taxable gifts above the exclusion reduce the lifetime gift and estate tax exemption.
- Direct payments of tuition or medical bills to the provider are excluded separately from the annual exclusion.
Gift tax exclusion: frequently asked questions
What is the annual gift tax exclusion?
The annual exclusion lets you give a set amount to each recipient each year without using your lifetime exemption or filing a gift tax return for that gift. The amount is set by law and indexed for inflation. Enter the current per-donee exclusion as a user-editable input.
What is gift splitting?
A married couple can elect to split gifts, treating a gift made by one spouse as made one-half by each. This effectively doubles the annual exclusion available for a gift to any one recipient. Set the gift-splitting option to 1 to apply double exclusion.
What happens to gifts above the exclusion?
Gifts above the annual exclusion are taxable gifts that reduce your lifetime gift and estate tax exemption and generally require filing a gift tax return (Form 709). Tax is usually only owed once cumulative taxable gifts exceed the lifetime exemption.
Does the annual exclusion apply per recipient?
Yes. The exclusion is per donee, so you can give the excluded amount to as many different people as you like each year without tax consequences. This calculator multiplies the per-donee exclusion by the number of recipients for your total.
Are gifts to a spouse excluded?
Gifts to a U.S. citizen spouse generally qualify for the unlimited marital deduction and are not taxable regardless of amount. This calculator models the annual exclusion for non-spouse donees; confirm spousal and noncitizen-spouse rules with the IRS.
Official sources
- Internal Revenue Service: What's New: Estate and Gift Tax.
- Internal Revenue Service: Instructions for Form 709 (Gift Tax).
Reviewed by the CalculatorHub team, edited by James Graham, 17 June 2026. See our methodology.