How Much Can You Give Without Owing Gift Tax in 2025?

When making sizable gifts, it’s important to know about the laws surrounding the gift tax and the lifetime gift tax exemption so that you don’t end up with any surprising tax bills or other difficulties.

The lifetime gift tax exemption – which is worth $13.99 million in 2025 – looks at how your gifts accumulate throughout your lifetime, which may help you avoid gift and estate taxes.

Consulting a fiduciary financial advisor can be a great first step to factoring large gift planning, and the potential tax repercussions, into your financial plan.

A 2023 Northwestern Mutual study found that 66% of U.S. adults admit their financial planning needs improvement. However, only 37% of Americans work with a financial advisor.¹

In fact, SmartAsset’s latest proprietary model reveals that working with a financial advisor could potentially add from 36% to 212% more dollar value to investors’ portfolios over a lifetime, depending on multiple unique, individual factors.²

Interested in finding a financial advisor? SmartAsset's no-cost tool can help you find and compare vetted fiduciary advisors in just a few minutes. How does the free tool work? It's easy:

• Short questionnaire takes just a few minutes
• Match with vetted fiduciary financial advisors
• Compare your matches and choose the one you feel is best for you

The fiduciary financial advisors you match with serve your area and are legally bound to work in your best interest. You may even be able to instantly connect with an advisor for a free introductory call. Advisors are vetted through our proprietary due diligence process.

---

What Is the Lifetime Gift Tax Exemption?

The lifetime gift tax exemption is the amount of money or assets the government permits you to give away over the course of your lifetime without having to pay the federal gift tax. This limit is adjusted each year.

For 2025, the lifetime gift tax exemption is $13.99 million, up from $13.61 million in 2024. This means you can give up to $13.99 million in gifts throughout your life without triggering federal gift taxes under current IRS guidelines. However, gift tax filings may still be required, and state laws or other conditions may apply.

For married couples, both spouses get the $13.99 million exemption, a total of $27.98 million before paying the gift tax.

Important: Even if you don’t come close to exceeding this exemption, you still may be required to file gift tax returns, so it’s important to make note of the gifts you give.

If you aren’t sure if you should be filing a gift tax return, you may want to check with a financial advisor.

---

Lifetime Gift Tax Exemption and Estate Tax

The lifetime gift tax exemption ties directly to the federal estate tax. The federal estate tax kicks in for estates worth more than $13.99 million in 2025, the same amount as the lifetime gift tax exemption.

The federal estate tax exemption is transferable between spouses, meaning that if the second spouse in a married couple dies in 2024, their estate can effectively have a $27.98 million exemption.

Gifts made in 2025 that exceed the $19,000 annual exclusion limit per recipient reduce your federal gift/estate tax exemption when you die.

For instance, let’s say you hypothetically give your grandson a $25,000 gift in 2025.

• The first $19,000 is not taxable because of the annual exclusion.
• The remaining $6,000 counts against both your lifetime gift tax exemption and your federal estate tax exemption.
• So when you die, your federal estate tax exemption will be $13,984,000. Once that lifetime exemption is exhausted, the federal gift and estate taxes will apply.

Find a Financial Advisor

---

What Gifts Are Always Exempt From Taxes?

Certain gifts are not considered taxable. These include:

• Gifts to charities approved by the IRS
• A gift to your spouse, if they’re a U.S. citizen
• A gift to cover someone’s education tuition, if paid directly to the educational institution (does not cover room and board, books or supplies)
• Gifts to cover someone’s medical expenses, if paid directly to the medical facility
• A gift to a political organization

Because gifts in these categories are always exempt from the federal gift tax, you don’t need to report them to the IRS.

Additionally, gifts to qualifying charities can be deducted from the total amount of gifts you made. Charitable contributions may also help reduce RMD taxes.

For more information on charitable giving and taxes, we recommend speaking with a financial advisor. You can get matched with fiduciary financial advisors in just a few minutes by clicking here.

---

How to Get Help With Gift Taxes

Gifting can be a generous way to give to the people and causes you care about, but you’ll need to be wary about how much you give each year, as well as over the course of your lifetime.

To help ensure you’re giving in the most tax efficient way, it could be a good idea to speak with a financial advisor. A fiduciary financial advisor may be able to help you plan out significant gifts in a way that keeps you within the annual and lifetime gift tax thresholds, potentially saving you thousands of dollars.

Fiduciaries may be able to help you understand your options when it comes to planning for gift taxes and minimizing your liability. Additionally, any conflicts of interest must be disclosed, and fiduciaries are obligated to work in your best interest.

Finding a fiduciary shouldn't be that hard. Thankfully, now it isn't.

SmartAsset’s free matching quiz can match you with fiduciary advisors who serve your area. From there, you can compare and decide which advisor to work with. All advisors on the matching platform have been vetted through our proprietary due diligence process.

The quiz takes just a few minutes, and in many cases, you can be connected instantly with an advisor to have an introductory call.

---

This is a hypothetical example and is not representative of any specific security. Actual results when working with a financial advisor will vary.

This scenario is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an actual client. Results may vary.

This is not an offer to buy or sell any security or interest. All investing involves risk, including loss of principal. Working with an adviser may come with potential downsides such as payment of fees (which will reduce returns). Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. There are no guarantees that working with an adviser will yield positive returns. The existence of a fiduciary duty does not prevent the rise of potential conflicts of interest.

SmartAsset.com is not intended to provide legal advice, tax advice, accounting advice or financial advice (Other than referring users to third party advisers registered or chartered as fiduciaries ("Adviser(s)") with a regulatory body in the United States). The article and opinions in this publication are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. We suggest that you consult your accountant, tax, or legal advisor with regard to your individual situation.

SmartAsset Advisors, LLC ("SmartAsset"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Financial Insight Technology, is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment adviser. SmartAsset’s services are limited to referring users to third party advisers registered or chartered as fiduciaries ("Adviser(s)") with a regulatory body in the United States that have elected to participate in our matching platform based on information gathered from users through our online questionnaire. SmartAsset receives compensation from Advisers for our services. SmartAsset does not review the ongoing performance of any Adviser, participate in the management of any user’s account by an Adviser or provide advice regarding specific investments.

We do not manage client funds or hold custody of assets, we help users connect with relevant financial advisors.

Sources:
1. “Planning and Progress”, Northwestern Mutual (2023)
2. “The Value of a Financial Advisor: What’s It Really Worth?” SmartAsset (Nov. 2024)