What is the maximum $ amount you can receive as a monetary gift without having to pay a gift tax?

Question

Or, not having to claim the money as income to the I.R.S?

Answer 1

Gifts are not taxable income. But they may be reportable to the IRS. This is to prevent people from giving away all their assets before they die in order to avoid estate tax.

An individual may gift $12,000 to another individual in a tax year without having to file a gift tax return. More than that, and the giver has to file a Form 709. This does not imply that any gift taxes will be collected, though. Right now, the lifetime gift tax exclusion is $1,000,000 per person. In other words, no one has to pay gift tax until they've give a million dollars to another person. But they still have to file a gift tax return if they gift more than $12,000 in a single year to a person.

Answer 2

The recipient doesn't pay gift tax, and doesn't report gifts to the IRS no matter how large. The GIVER is the one who has the obligation to file a gift tax return on a gift over $12,000 to any one person in a year - gift tax might or might not be due - if it is, the giver pays it.

Answer 3

There is no amount at which you would either have to pay a gift tax or report he money as income to the IRS. Gift tax is paid by the giver and is 46% not a mere 3.5% as one answer says. if it was 3.5% there would be a lot less estate planning attorneys out there.

Answer 4

Bona fide gifts are never taxable to the recipient. Therefore there is no limit as to how much you can receive. The recipient NEVER needs to report the gift to the IRS under ANY circumstances.

Although the lifetime exclusion is $1,000,000 that is cumulative, NOT per recipient as stated by another respondent. At any rate, that's an issue for the donor, not the recipient.

Answer 5

i believe the amount is 10,000.00 anything over, you, the gift giver must pay taxes (it used to be 3.5% i believe) on.