Can I gift assets (shares and cash) from within my IRA to a family member's IRA?

[jl3757]

I wish to gift some shares to a family member's IRA from within my IRA.  I would guess this is subject to the gift tax exclusion and lifetime exemption, but would I be able to make an IRA to IRA gift at all, and would it be possible for the gift to exceed the annual IRA contribution limit?

[dmertz]

No, IRA assets are not permitted to be gifted in that way.  To move assets from your IRA to to another person's IRA you would have to take a cash distribution from your IRA, gift the cash to the other person, then the other person would have to be eligible to make an IRA contribution and use that cash to make the contribution.  The IRA distribution, the cash gift and the IRA contribution are (must be) entirely independent transactions.