Gift Giving the Tax-Free Way
Although it’s the season of giving, no one wants to share with the IRS. Luckily, the law provides you many opportunities to give gifts to family, friends, and charities tax-free. Some are straightforward, while others may require the help of a professional.
Your Yearly Coupons
Each year on January 1st, everyone receives what can be thought of as yearly coupons for tax-free gifts. There are several different ways that you can redeem those coupons:
  • Annual exclusion gifts. These gifts are transfers of money or property that do not exceed the annual gift tax exclusion. These gifts can be given on one or more than one occasion throughout the year, the key is that you add up the gifts throughout the year. In 2018, you can give up to $15,000 ($30,000 for married couples) per recipient without having to pay any gift tax or file a gift tax return. These gifts can be cash or property but they must be of a “present”interest. Gifts using trusts or certain types of property (like closely held businesses) can be tricky because the “present” interest requirement can be missing. If you plan on using a trust or an LLC to make your gift, it’s best to work with a professional.
  • Pay medical bills. The IRS also allows you to pay an unlimited amount of someone’s medical bills, without worrying about the gift tax. However, the payment must be made directly to the doctor, hospital, or other medical provider in order to qualify.
  • Pay tuition. Additionally, you are able to pay an unlimited amount of tuition bills for the benefit of someone else, as long as the tuition is paid directly to a qualified educational institution. One big issue here is that the gift must be only for tuition – books, fees, living expenses, travel, and other costs of education do not qualify.
  • Give to charity. For those of you who are philanthropically minded, you can give as much money or property to a qualified charity as you want without worrying about the gift tax. As an added benefit, unlike the gifts above, you may also be entitled to an income tax deduction for the charitable gift.
Your Once-In-A-Lifetime Coupon
In addition to our annual coupons, we all have a once-in-a-lifetime coupon for taxable gifts, those that exceed or do not qualify for the annual exclusion, called the unified credit. It’s called a unified credit because it unifies the gift tax with the estate tax into a coordinated tax system. Unlike the annual coupons you read about above, once you spend the value of the unified credit coupon for a taxable gift, it’s gone.
Many people assume that because it says taxable gifts, they’ll have to pay the gift tax. Luckily because of the unified credit coupon, most people will never have to actually pay any gift tax. You only have to pay gift tax if your lifetime gifts exceed the unified credit coupon. Under the current law, the base amount of the unified credit starts at $10 million and increases each year through 2025. In 2018, due to a change in the inflation adjustment utilized, we expect that the unified credit amount will be about $11.18 million. However, if you make a taxable gift, you are required to file a gift tax return with your income taxes.
When should I talk to an estate planner?
If you plan on making a gift in excess of $15,000 in 2018, then you should talk with us first. Sometimes the best way of making a gift is to just write a check, but other times giving in a trust, through an LLC, or with an undivided interest in property can make more sense and offer your recipient greater benefits (like privacy or asset protection).
While we don’t suggest you give away anything that you might need, if you do have some surplus, gifting programs are a fun way to see your loved ones enjoy your generosity. Give us a call today so we can help make sure you do it without drawing the attention of the IRS.