Gift Tax 709 filing for money sent to son in graduate school

[tacopa]

My kid is 24 & a full time graduate student. I will be listing them as my dependent in my 2024 Tax return. I pay all of his expenses - rent, meals, tuition, etc. So, I send $$ to his bank account time to time for the expenses.  In addition to this, I also contributed to his 529 in 2024. Amount I contributed to 529 plus the non-529 money I have given have exceeded the gift exclusion which is $18k individual and $36k for couples.

Question is if they are my dependents, are they considered as gifts or necessary expenses? Do I need to file gift tax form 709?

Can someone please help me?

Thanks.

[DoninGA]

No, those are not gifts.  You are paying for their living expenses and for their education.

[tacopa]

thanks for the reply.  Ithought that 529 for example is considered as gift to children.  while my 529 contribution is just about $17k, I transferred money to his account for monthly living expenses while college. after getting tired of sending monthly,  i sent a big check $25k to his bank account to cover a several months - which i read somewhere could trigger the gift scenario. 

is there any doc that refers that money directly sent to dependents of 24 yrs college students is not considered as gift though it is more than $36k?