Can I receive more than $14,000 from someone if they gift it to someone else who then gifts it to me?

[johnnysy]

For example, if this person wanted to gift me $28,000 in cash, could they gift me the $14,000 directly and then the other $14,000 through someone else who then send me the $14,000 gift?

[Zbucklyo · Accepted solution]

No the gift can't be left unreported by the giver, because that is an attempt to subvert the requirement to file Form 709, a gift tax return.  The IRS will look at the substance of the transaction (gifting you $28,000) rather than the form of the transaction. Remember that if someone gifts you more than $14,000, they do not and you do not owe tax at that time - this just reduces the exemption from federal estate taxes from its current amount of about $5.5 million.

[johnnysy]

Does the giver have to fill out Form 709 every subsequent year to keep track of how much they've given over a lifetime even if the gifts they give in the future are always under $14,000?  Do they also have to go back and calculate how much they've given from previous years?

[Opus 17]

Gifts less than $14,000 don't need to be reported at all, even if the person previously gave a gift over the limit.

I've never used the gift tax form but I suspect that you would only need the previous year's form since, if a running total is needed, it would be on the previous year.  Of course, most tax forms should be saved for at least 7 years anyway.

[Opus 17]

Gifts are never taxable to the recipient.

Gifts of more than $14,000 per person per year must be reported to the IRS, but no gift tax is actually owed unless the lifetime amount of gifts plus the person's estate is more than $5.4 million.  (And the president is trying to eliminate that.)

So you can do anything you want.  The giver is the one who is trying to evade the law for some reason.  If they are so wealthy that they actually owe gift tax, then they are guilty of tax evasion (if caught) and if they don't owe gift tax, they are breaking the law and making themselves look suspicious for no gain or benefit to themselves.

Also, beware that lots of scams begin with "gifts" that aren't really.  

[Moulid ahmed]

My neme s [email address removed]

[Moulid ahmed]

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[xmasbaby0]

@Moulid ahmed Why are you trying to post your personal information to this very public website where it can be seen by anyone using the internet?  What are you trying to do?   Do you have an income tax question?

This is a public web site that can be seen by anyone—including scammers and would-be identity thieves who would love to contact you and pretend to be from TurboTax.  Please remove the personal information you posted here ASAP by returning to your post and clicking the three little blue dots on the upper right to edit your post.