@atlasthere , the difference herein is not in the text of the laws/rules etc. The question in my is what counts as gift --if you are "gifting" i.e. giving monies to a donee without expecting anything in return and/or no obligation ( written / societal/family / emotional/ custom etc. ) then indeed you need to recognize the rules i.e. $17,000 and under per year requires no reporting and has no tax implications now or in the future. If on the other-hand , you send monies to help your parent/ parents have a reasonable living and it is customary in your culture, then I would argue that this is not a gift and therefore does not come under the gift rules. Of course the actual facts and circumstances and amounts matter. For example , if you and your spouse each sent $17,000 to each of your parents i.e. 4 X 17000 = 68,000 in total then is this gift or maintenance of family ties. It is a Murkey area because it depends on interpretation of the intent of the law and are you trying to circumvent the rules ( i money laundering comes to mind ). Again as I said , facts and circumstances matter.
@Opus 17 and I do not disagree on the law , but I am more aware of the cultural norms and expectations thereof -- thus interpretation differences.
Namaste ji
pk
