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The Daily Insight

How much of a gift is taxable?

Author

Emma Jordan

Published Mar 20, 2026

If you’re lucky enough and generous enough to use up your exclusions, you may indeed have to pay the gift tax. The rates range from 18% to 40%, and the giver generally pays the tax. There are, of course, exceptions and special rules for calculating the tax, so see the instructions to IRS Form 709 for all the details.

How much is the gift tax exclusion for 2020?

For both 2020 and 2021, the annual gift-tax exclusion is $15,000 per donor, per recipient. A giver can give anyone else—such as a relative, friend or even a stranger—up to $15,000 in assets a year, free of federal gift taxes.

How to use gift tax calculator for taxes?

How to use the gift tax calculator: 1 Select your tax year. 2 Choose your filing status from the drop-down list. 3 Enter the value of the gifts you have given during the selected tax year. 4 Enter the value of the gifts you have given before the selected tax year. 5 Click on the “Calculate” button to compute the gift tax.

Do you have to pay gift tax on annual exclusion?

You can give the annual exclusion amount to any one person every single year and never dip into your lifetime exemption. If the father doesn’t want to pay the gift tax on the $85,000 in the year the gift is made, he can reduce his lifetime gift tax exemption by this amount.

Is there a limit on the amount of money you can give as a gift?

Gift Tax Limit: Annual. The annual gift tax exclusion is $15,000 for the 2021 tax year. (It was the same for the 2020 tax year.) This is the amount of money that you can give as a gift to one person, in any given year, without having to pay any gift tax.

How much tax do you pay on a gift in Wisconsin?

The taxable portion of her gifts is $5,000 per recipient, or $15,000 total. The first $10,000 she gifts is taxed at a rate of 18%, for a total tax of $1,800. The next $5,000 is taxed at the next gift tax rate of 20%, amounting to $1,000. The total gift tax that Janet must pay for the year is $2,800.