The annual gift tax begins at $14,000 gift to one person. Don't confuse the lifetime gift tax exclusion with the annual gift tax exclusion. They're two separate things, although they work in tandem and interact with the federal estate tax as well.
The federal gift tax and estate tax are tied together by something called the Unified Tax Credit. The credit is one single $5.45 million exclusion. You can use it to shelter your estate from taxation when you die, or you can use it to defray the tax burden of giving more than the annual gift tax exclusion amount to any individual per year.
That means an individual can leave $5.49 million to heirs and pay no federal estate or gift tax. A married couple will be able to shield just shy of $11 million ($10.98 million) from federal estate and gift taxes. The annual gift exclusion remains at $14,000 for 2017.
