Annual Gift Tax Exclusion
$19,000 per recipient per year in 2026 without using any lifetime exemption.
What is Annual Gift Tax Exclusion?
Each donor can give up to $19,000 (2026) to any number of recipients each year with no gift tax and no reduction of the lifetime exemption. Spouses can combine to give $38,000 per recipient through gift splitting. Gifts to a US-citizen spouse are unlimited, as are payments made directly to a school for tuition or to a provider for medical care. The donor, not the recipient, owes any gift tax.
Annual Gift Tax Exclusion: a worked example
Grandparents give $38,000 each to four grandchildren in 2026 - $152,000 total, with no gift tax return needed except to elect gift splitting.
More terms in Clients, Strategy & Tax
Sole Proprietorship
A business owned by one person with no legal separation from the owner.
General Partnership
Co-owners share management and unlimited liability; income passes through.
Limited Liability Company (LLC)
Limited liability for owners with pass-through taxation by default.
C Corporation
A separate taxpayer - profits taxed at the corporate level, then again as dividends.
S Corporation
A corporation that passes income through to shareholders, avoiding double tax.
Trust & Estate Accounts
Accounts run by a fiduciary - a trustee or an executor - under a governing document.
Foundations & Charities
Tax-exempt organizations investing for a mission, often in perpetuity.
Client Profile & Data Gathering
The financial and nonfinancial facts every recommendation must rest on.