Gift Tax Calculator 2026 — Annual Exclusion, Lifetime Exemption & Form 709

Almost nobody owes gift tax, but many people have to file a gift tax return, and this calculator tells you which applies. Enter what you give each person, how many people get that amount, who they are, and whether you are married and splitting gifts or superfunding a 529 plan; it applies the 2026 exclusions and shows the tax, the lifetime exemption you have left and whether Form 709 is due.

For 2026 the first $19,000 you give any one person is excluded (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), and a married couple who elect to split gifts can give $38,000 per person. Gifts to a spouse who is a U.S. citizen and to qualified charities are fully deductible, while a spouse who is not a citizen can receive $194,000 a year tax-free. A contribution to a 529 plan can be spread over five years, so one person can put up to $95,000 ($190,000 for a couple) into a child's account at once without using any lifetime exemption. Anything above the exclusion is a taxable gift, reported on Form 709, and is subtracted from your $15,000,000 lifetime exemption; tax is due only once that is used up, and the excess is then taxed at 40%.

Tuition paid directly to a school and medical bills paid directly to a provider are not gifts at all, whatever the amount. The lifetime exemption is one pool shared with the estate tax, set at $15 million per person for 2026 by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and indexed for inflation from 2027, so every dollar of it used on gifts is a dollar less that your estate can pass tax-free.