Gift tax in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gift tax in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: A gift tax is a tax imposed on the transfer of ownership of property. The United States Internal Revenue Service says, a gift is "Any transfer to an individual, either directly or indirectly, where full consideration (measured in money or money's worth) is not received in return."[1]

When a taxable gift in the form of cash, stocks, real estate, or other tangible or intangible property is made, the tax is usually imposed on the donor (the giver) unless there is a retention of an interest which delays completion of the gift. A transfer is completely gratuitous, where the donor receives nothing of value in exchange for the given property. A transfer is gratuitous in part, where the donor receives some value but the value of the property received by the donor is substantially less than the value of the property given by the donor. In this case, the amount of the gift is the difference.

In the United States, the gift tax is governed by Chapter 12, Subtitle B of the Internal Revenue Code. The tax is imposed by section 2501 of the Code.[2] For the purposes of taxable income, courts have defined a "gift" as the proceeds from a "detached and disinterested generosity."[3] Gifts are often given out of "affection, respect, admiration, charity or like impulses.[4]

There are two levels of exemption from the gift tax. First, gifts of up to the annual exclusion ($14,000 per recipient as of June 2013) incur no tax or filing requirement. By splitting their gifts, married couples can give up to twice this amount tax-free. Note that each giver and recipient pair has their own unique annual exclusion; a giver can give to any number of recipients and the exclusion is not affected by other gifts that recipient may have received from others.

Second, gifts in excess of the annual exclusion may still be tax-free up to the lifetime estate basic exclusion amount ($5,340,000 in 2014), although for estates over that amount such gifts might increase estate taxes. Taxpayers that expect to have a taxable estate may sometimes prefer to pay gift taxes as they occur, rather than saving them up as part of the estate.

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The reason
I posted this gift check from my mother up to my blog...

to show that I am not a self-made man.  

While my dad was still living, starting sometime during my high school years, me, my brother, and my sister began receiving these gifts in the form of CD deposited in our names.  Half of what he made as a doctor was considered belonging to our mother who gave up her career as a nurse becoming a full time housewife when my sister was born.  

Twenty thousand dollars a year non-taxable.  

That's a big deal.  

Spoiled.

It was with this money I paid cash in full ($177,000.00) for my home the day we closed the deal.

I could never have afforded this home off the income I made as a veterinarian.

Bit off more than I could chew.