What Is Form 709?

Form 709 is the U.S. federal gift tax return used to report taxable gifts you make to another person during the year. It is filed by the person giving the gift, not the recipient.

Form 709, United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return, is used to report:

• Gifts that exceed the annual exclusion
• Certain gifts to trusts
• Gifts subject to the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax
• Gifts for which you elect gift splitting with a spouse

When Do You Have to File Form 709?

You must file Form 709 if you make any of the following in a calendar year:

1. Gifts Over the Annual Exclusion

For 2025, the annual exclusion is $18,000 per recipient (indexed for inflation).

Example:

• You give your daughter $25,000 → File Form 709 to report the $7,000 excess

Filing does not necessarily mean you owe tax.

2. Gift Splitting With a Spouse

If you and your spouse agree to split gifts:

• Each spouse files their own Form 709
• Even if no gift exceeds the exclusion after splitting

3. Gifts of Future Interests

Gifts that are not immediately usable by the recipient (e.g., certain trust gifts) generally do not qualify for the annual exclusion and must be reported.

4. Gifts to Trusts

Many trust contributions require filing Form 709, even if no tax is due.

5. Generation-Skipping Transfers

Gifts to:

• Grandchildren
• Unrelated persons more than 37.5 years younger

may trigger GST tax reporting on Form 709.

When You Do Not Need to File Form 709

You generally do not need to file if the gift is:

• Under the annual exclusion per recipient
• A direct payment of:
  
  • Tuition paid directly to a school
  • Medical expenses paid directly to a provider
• A gift to a U.S. citizen spouse (unlimited marital deduction)
• A qualifying charitable donation

Does Filing Form 709 Mean You Owe Gift Tax?

Usually, no.

• Excess gifts reduce your lifetime gift & estate tax exemption
• The lifetime exemption for 2025 is $13.61 million (subject to future law changes)
• Gift tax is owed only if you exceed your lifetime exemption

When Is Form 709 Due?

• Due April 15 of the year following the gift
• Extensions for your Form 1040 automatically extend Form 709
• Filed separately (not attached to your 1040)

Updated 2026 Thresholds

The IRS adjusts these figures annually for inflation. For the 2026 calendar year:

• Annual Exclusion: This has increased to $19,000 per recipient (up from $18,000 in 2025).
• Lifetime Exemption: The base amount for 2026 is $13.99 million (up from $13.61 million).

The "Sunset" Clause 

• Unless Congress acts, this exemption is scheduled to "sunset" after December 31, 2025.
• This means that for gifts made in 2026 and beyond, the exemption could potentially drop significantly (roughly back to $7 million, adjusted for inflation). This makes filing Form 709 correctly right now even more important for record-keeping.
• Medical/Tuition Exclusion: If you give the money to the student and they pay the school, it counts as a taxable gift and requires Form 709 if over the limit.
• Gifts to Non-Citizen Spouses: While gifts to U.S. citizen spouses are unlimited, there is actually a cap on tax-free gifts to non-citizen spouses. For 2026, that limit is $185,000.
• The "Separate Filing" Rule: It is mailed to a specific IRS address in Kansas City, MO (unless you are using a private delivery service), which is a common point of confusion for many.

Summary Table for 2026 Filing

Sources:

IRS - About Form 709

IRS - Gift Tax Overview

IRC §2503 - Taxable gifts

IRC §2010 (Unified Credit / Lifetime Exemption)

Instructions for Form 709