Form 709 —
Gift Tax Return
Annual gift tax filings — required when gifts exceed the annual exclusion, and a key component of lifetime estate planning strategy.
What is Form 709?
Form 709, the United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return, is filed when an individual makes gifts that exceed the annual gift tax exclusion or otherwise require reporting. Filing this return doesn't necessarily mean tax is owed — it means the gift is being reported and, if it exceeds the annual exclusion, applied against the lifetime exemption.
2026 thresholds
The annual gift tax exclusion for 2026 is $19,000 per recipient — unchanged from 2025. The unified lifetime estate and gift tax exemption is $15,000,000 per individual under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which permanently raised and indexed this amount. The scheduled sunset that would have reduced the exemption has been repealed.
When is a Form 709 required?
- Any gift to a single recipient exceeding $19,000 in 2026
- Gifts of future interests regardless of amount
- Gifts to a spouse who is not a U.S. citizen (above a separate $194,000 threshold in 2026)
- Certain transfers to trusts or entities
- Generation-skipping transfers
- Gift splitting with a spouse — even when no tax is owed
The lifetime exemption connection
Taxable gifts made during a person's lifetime reduce the federal estate tax exemption available at death. With the exemption now permanent at $15 million and indexed for inflation, the urgency around "using up" exemption before a sunset is gone — but tracking cumulative gifts remains important for accurate estate planning.
Annual exclusion gifts
Gifts within the $19,000 annual exclusion generally do not need to be reported. There is no limit on how many recipients you can give the annual exclusion amount to. Married couples can split gifts, effectively doubling the exclusion to $38,000 per recipient — but gift splitting requires a Form 709 filing even if no tax is owed.
The final Form 709 — year of death
If the decedent made taxable gifts in the year of death, a final Form 709 must be filed. We coordinate this with Form 706 as part of an integrated estate filing.
What we need to get started
- A list of all gifts made during the year — recipient names and SSNs
- Values of gifted assets (appraisals for real estate or closely-held interests)
- Prior year Forms 709 (to track lifetime exemption usage)
- Spouse information if gift splitting is elected
- Trust documents if gifts were made to or through a trust
Frequently Asked Questions
When is a gift tax return required?
A Form 709 is required when you give more than the annual exclusion amount ($19,000 per recipient in 2026) to any one person in a year, or when you make gifts of future interests regardless of amount. It's also required if you and your spouse elect to split gifts.
Does filing Form 709 mean I owe gift tax?
Almost never. The gift tax and estate tax share a unified lifetime exemption of $15 million (2026). Most people never owe actual gift tax — the return just tracks how much of your lifetime exemption has been used.
What is gift splitting?
Married couples can elect to treat a gift made by one spouse as if each spouse made half. This effectively doubles the annual exclusion to $38,000 per recipient. However, electing to split gifts requires both spouses to file a Form 709 for that year.