Gifting money to family in 2026

Giving to each of your children

The annual exclusion applies to gifts to each recipient. If you give each of your children $19,000 in 2026, each gift has its own exclusion. Grandchildren, siblings, parents and friends work the same way for gift tax. This applies to outright gifts the recipient can use now; gifts in trust or with delayed access follow different rules, and gifts to grandchildren can raise generation-skipping transfer questions — have a qualified tax professional review those.

Several gifts during the year

Birthday money, help with rent and a holiday check to the same person all add up for the calendar year. Direct tuition and medical payments are the exception — they're excluded separately. Keep a running total per recipient.

When both parents give

If each parent gives from their own money, each is a separate donor with their own $19,000 exclusion for that child. Gifts of community property are considered made one-half by each spouse. A gift from a joint account that isn't community property isn't automatically split between spouses — who gave it depends on who owns the funds under applicable law. To treat one spouse's gift as made half by each, spouses can elect gift splitting on Form 709. If it's unclear which spouse gave, have a professional review it.

Gift or loan?

A gift is a transfer where you don't receive full value in return. A genuine loan, with an expectation of repayment, is different — but forgiving it later, or charging little or no interest, can create gift tax questions. If you intend a loan, put the terms in writing and have a tax professional review the arrangement before calling it one.

Helping with a home down payment

Lenders often ask for a signed gift letter confirming the money doesn't need to be repaid. That's a lending requirement, separate from tax reporting. For tax purposes, the same per-recipient rules apply. A gift to a married couple can be two gifts of $19,000 each only if each spouse actually receives their share; if ownership or allocation is unclear, have a professional review it.

Paying tuition or medical bills directly

Tuition paid directly to a school and medical expenses paid directly to a provider generally aren't taxable gifts and don't use the annual exclusion. Paying the student or patient instead doesn't qualify for this treatment.

Planned versus completed gifts

Gifts count in the year they're made. A gift you plan for 2027 doesn't count toward 2026; make sure gifts intended for 2026 are completed by December 31.

Examples

Records to keep

• Each gift: date, recipient, amount and source account
• Whose money each gift was (separate, joint or community)
• Gift letters given to lenders
• Written loan terms, if any money is a loan
• Receipts for tuition or medical bills paid directly