I've been given the max gift money from my parents for 2023 in late December. Do I have to deposit it after January 1st to avoid gift tax?

[userdunbarerin85]

The check was given in late Dec 2022, but is dated for 2023, and 2023 is 3 days away.

[fanfare]

the recipient of a gift does not pay tax on that.

@userdunbarerin85 

[Bsch4477]

You don’t have pay any tax on a gift and if your parents did not exceed the maximum allowed ($32,000 if from both of them) they need not report it. 

[Carl]

Typically, a financial institution will not accept a post-dated check. Attempts to deposit it before the date on the check will probably be futile, if the teller is paying attention to detail.

Also, there is no gift tax on gifts under 11.2M, and I doubt you have a check for that much. However, there is a reporting requirement for gifts more than $16K in 2022, and that rises to $17K for 2023. The recipient of the gift is not required to do or report anything. Ever. However, if the gift exceeds $17K (for 2023) then the giver (not the recipient) is required to file IRS Form 709 - Gift Tax Return with the IRS. Again, if the gift is less than $11.2M then even the giver will not pay taxes on it. (The money they gifted you has already been taxed.) But the giver is "required" to report it if it exceeds the $17K threshold for 2023. For the giver, it's just a reporting requirement, and that's all.

[NCperson]

@Carl very few checks are actually presented to tellers these days.....it's really a function of how sophisticated the scanning technology is when a check is deposited into an ATM or deposited via a smartphone app 😀

[Opus 17]

Generally speaking, money is considered to be received when it is actually available and negotiable to you.  Because a post-dated check is technically not valid until the date on the check, it would be considered received as of the date on the check.  (I believe this principle is valid  even if the depositing bank or the paying bank honored the check before the date.)  However, if the check was dated in 2022, it would count as a 2022 gift even if you did not deposit it until 2023, because the funds were available to you, even though you did not access them.

In the US, gift tax is not paid by the recipient, (unless the giver owes gift tax and failed to pay it, in which case the IRS may be allowed to recover the gift tax from the recipient.)

The giver may give $16,000 per year without reporting it; more than that must be reported although gift tax is rarely owed.  If your parents have given you $16,000 for 2022 and another $16,000 for 2023 by means of a post-dated check, that will probably be counted as a 2023 gift, since technically the check can’t be honored until the date on the check. However, your parents may wish to consult their own tax advisor.

[Carl]

Yes, with remote deposit it's perfectly possible. But I wouldn't try it. Especially on something that could have IRS repercussions, regardless of how remote that possibility may be.