Applied to exemption
Reduces lifetime exemption
,
For 2025 you can give up to 19,000 per recipient (38,000 for a married couple who split gifts) with no gift-tax filing and no effect on your lifetime exemption. Gifts above that reduce the lifetime gift-and-estate exemption (about 13.99 million per person in 2025) but usually create no tax until the exemption is used up. Simplified; a gift-tax return may still be required.