How this calculator works
Calendar year: 2026, United States. Each person can give up to $19,000 to each recipient in 2026 without using any lifetime exemption and without filing a gift tax return. A married couple can elect to split gifts, so each spouse uses their own $19,000 exclusion on the same gift, which effectively covers $38,000 per recipient; the election is made on Form 709. Gifts above the exclusion do not usually produce tax at once. They use the lifetime basic exclusion amount, which is $15,000,000 for 2026, and gift tax is due only when cumulative taxable gifts exceed that amount, at a 40% rate. This is a US federal tax: Canada does not have a gift tax, so a Canadian reader should not apply these figures at home. The model leaves out the Form 709 filing requirement, the special $194,000 exclusion for gifts to a non-citizen spouse, generation-skipping transfer tax, the annual exclusion for gifts of future interests, charitable deductions, the marital deduction for gifts between spouses and state tax.
Formula
Exclusion per recipient = $19,000, or $38,000 when a married couple elects gift splitting. Taxable gifts this year = max(0, gift per recipient - exclusion per recipient) x number of recipients. Lifetime exemption remaining = max(0, $15,000,000 - earlier taxable gifts - taxable gifts this year). Gift tax due = max(0, earlier taxable gifts + taxable gifts this year - $15,000,000) x 40%.
Worked example
A married couple splits a $50,000 gift to one child in 2026. The split exclusion is $38,000, leaving $12,000 of taxable gifts. That amount is within the $15,000,000 lifetime exemption, so no gift tax is due and $14,988,000 of exemption remains. Without splitting, the exclusion would be $19,000 and $31,000 would be taxable.
Frequently asked questions
What is the gift tax annual exclusion for 2026?
It is $19,000 per donor per recipient for calendar 2026, unchanged from 2025. A married couple that splits gifts can cover $38,000 per recipient.
Do I have to file a gift tax return?
A return is generally required when a gift exceeds the annual exclusion, when a couple elects gift splitting, or when a gift of a future interest is made. Filing does not by itself mean tax is due.
Will I owe gift tax on a gift above $19,000?
Usually not. The excess uses the lifetime exemption, which is $15,000,000 for 2026, and tax at 40% applies only after cumulative taxable gifts exceed that amount.
What is gift splitting?
It is an election by a married couple to treat a gift made by one spouse as made half by each. Each spouse then applies their own $19,000 annual exclusion to the same recipient.