Annual Gift Tax Exclusion

What this video covers

• Why the annual exclusion is per donee, not per donor, and how a single giver can blanket unlimited recipients with $19,000 each tax-free
• How spousal gift splitting doubles the exclusion to $38,000 per donee per year without touching the lifetime exclusion
• What the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) defines as a complete gift, and why incomplete gifts where the donor keeps dominion and control are ignored for gift tax purposes
• Why transfers to irrevocable trusts count as gifts to the beneficiaries, while transfers to a spouse, qualified charities, and political organizations do not
• The direct-pay loophole for tuition and medical expenses, and the trap that the payment must go straight to the institution or provider, never the individual
• When Form 709 (gift tax return) must be filed, including the gotcha that gift splitting always triggers a filing even when the gift is far below $19,000
• The crucial distinction between filing a gift tax return and actually owing gift tax