How to Legally Avoid The Gift Tax on Money
How to Legally Avoid The Gift Tax on Money
Eric Reed Thu, October 20, 2022
The gift tax is a tax levied on any unilateral transfer (a gift) from one person to another. The federal tax is aimed partially at making sure wealthy families don’t use gifts to bypass the estate tax.
The federal gift tax applies to any kind of taxable assets, including cash, securities and real estate. When the gift tax applies, it is the donor who pays, meaning that if you give a taxable gift you owe any applicable taxes. If you receive a gift, it is rare, if ever, that you owe taxes.
It is exceedingly rare for someone to owe money due to the gift tax. This tends to apply only to the wealthiest of households due to the tax’s high exclusions. This is because the purpose of the gift tax is to prevent wealthy families from avoiding the estate tax by simply gifting all their money to each new set of heirs. Here’s what you need to know.
Consider working with a financial advisor as you seek ways to transfer wealth to family members or loved ones.
What Is the Gift Tax?
Per the IRS, this is a tax levied on “[a]ny transfer to an individual, either directly or indirectly, where full consideration (measured in money or money’s worth) is not received in return.” If you give something of value and get less than it is worth in return, it is considered a gift and may be taxable under this law.
Importantly, this applies if you give something of value and get a nominal amount in return. (In law this is called a “de minimis” transaction.) For example, say you want to give your children the family house. Instead of giving it outright you sell it to them for $100. You do this because ordinarily a property sale doesn’t trigger the gift tax. From a legal standpoint the parties have exchanged assets so the only relevant tax would be on any capital gains.
However, in this case the sale price had no bearing on the fair market value of the property (otherwise known as “full consideration”). As a result you would owe taxes on the difference between the house’s sale price ($100) and its fair market value. Structuring this sale specifically to avoid the gift tax would be a form of felony tax fraud.
This is a particularly common type of tax evasion among family businesses and within closely held real estate companies.
Should you owe gift taxes, the applicable tax rates range from 18% to 40%, depending on the amount of the taxable gift. This tax is progressive, meaning that each bracket only applies to its segment of value. For example, no matter how much you give as a gift, you only pay 18% on the first $10,000.
Gift Tax Exclusions
As noted in our introduction, the person who gives the gift owes any relevant taxes. However, you don’t owe taxes on any gift that falls within an applicable exclusion. The gift tax comes with two forms of exclusions, the annual exclusion and the lifetime exclusion.
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