Question

Andrew and Brianna are married and live in Texas, a community-property state. For their birthdays this year Andrew gave cash gifts of $20,900 to each of his two daughters, and Brianna gave $35,200 to her niece. What is the amount of Andrew's taxable gifts

Answer 1

Answer: $2,600

Explanation:

Because Andrew is married, the gift tax on him is split in half between him and his wife. This means that to each of his daughters, the gift tax will be on:

= 20,900 / 2

= $10,450

This amount is less than the gift exclusion limit of $15,000 so Andrew will not be charged taxes on the gifts to his daughters.

On the gift to Brianna's niece, Andrew's gift tax will be based on:

= 35,200 / 2

= $17,600

This is above the gift exclusion limit of $15,000 by:

= 17,600 - 15,000

= $2,600

The above would therefore be Andrew's taxable gift amount.