


Rather than just give the children you love a cheap toy that’ll end up at a garage sale, gifting money is a way to invest in that child’s financial future. If you want to gift money to a family member, that’s fantastic. How much money can you gift a family member in 2023? We’ll walk you through how much you can give, tax considerations you should be aware of, and the best types of accounts you can use to gift money to family members who aren’t yet adults. “Gift money” is even a legally defined term: it’s the amount of money you can legally give to a family member or anyone else you care about without being taxed. Whatever the case may be, there are several ways to go about giving a family member money. When it comes to children in particular, gifting money and assets now will provide them with a major financial advantage for the future–and, with the growing inflation rate, they might need it.īy contributing to an account early, you could be helping the children you love fund anything from a gap year in a foreign country to their college tuition. “The purpose of filing the return is to track your lifetime gift amount, which will be used in calculating tax on your estate when you die.” If you give more than $11.4 million while still alive, the gift tax rate kicks in, which can be anywhere from 18% to 40%.There are many reasons someone might want to give–and receive!-money as a gift for the holidays. “The gifts get tallied up over time and offset against the lifetime exclusion on gifts, which is currently $11.4 million,” says Brookes. But that doesn’t mean the donor will pay taxes. What if the down payment gift is above $15,000?ĭown payment amounts above $15,000 and received as a gift must be reported on a gift tax return by the person making the gift-not the beneficiary. “I received a $10,000 gift and used it as my down payment,” she says. “The beauty of the gift tax is that any amount received that’s beneath the current $15,000 exclusion amount is not taxable to anyone,” says tax expert and CPA, Folasade Ayegbusi of . She used the gift tax strategy to purchase her first home. “All that’s required is that it is a gift, meaning it’s made with disinterested generosity,” says Ann Brookes at . And then the husband’s parents could do the same. That means that one set of parents could give the couple a total of $60,000 tax-free. So Mom gives $15,000 to her daughter and $15,000 to her son-in-law, and Dad does the same. Here’s an example of how families can amass a bigger gift under that regulation: Each member of a couple trying to get help with a down payment can receive $15,000 from each parent. You’ll also need a statement from the donor that the money was given with no expectation of repayment.Īny one person can give a gift of $15,000 or less to another individual and not have to pay taxes on it. “Keep in mind you will have to provide detailed documentation in the form of a gift letter to the lender that states the name of the donor, their relationship to you, the date and amount of the gift,” says Jennifer Harder, founder and CEO of Jennifer Harder Mortgage Brokers. It’s also generally acceptable to receive gifts from a domestic partner, or significant other, if you’re engaged to be married. That means a parent, grandparent, sibling, or spouse. If you’re buying a home, you can only use a cash gift from an immediate relative to help get a mortgage to buy a home. Who can give you a cash gift for a down payment? But whenever a large stack of cash changes hands, Uncle Sam wants to know-and that means tax returns can get complicated. So before you give or get a down payment gift, make sure you understand their tax implications. That’s why some home buyers turn to family for a helping hand in the form of the gift of a down payment. Searching for homes and scrolling through listing photos is fun, but saving up for a down payment can be a real challenge.
