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Level 3
January 24, 2026
Solved

Includable gifts on Form 709

I made one reportable gift in 2025 and must file Form 709.  Must I report on Form 709 ALL 2025 gifts I made?  Must I report on Form 709 ALL 2025 charitable gifts?

    Mike9241
    Mike9241Answer
    Level 15
    January 25, 2026

    yes. if you made reportable gifts to non-charities, you need to report charitable donations 

    Mike9241

    8 replies

    M-MTax
    Level 15
    January 24, 2026

    You do not need to report gifts to recognized charitable organizations unless you otherwise have to file Form 709 for non-charitable gifts.

    Mike9241
    Level 15
    Level 15
    January 24, 2026

    Who Must File
    In general. If you are a citizen or resident of the United States,
    you must file a gift tax return (whether or not any tax is ultimately
    due) in the following situations.
    • If you gave gifts to someone in 2025 totaling more than
    $19,000 (other than to your spouse), you must generally file
    Form 709. But see
    Transfers Not Subject to the Gift Tax and
    Gifts to Your Spouse, later, for more information on specific
    gifts that are not taxable.
    • Certain gifts, called future interests, are not subject to the
    $19,000 annual exclusion and you must file Form 709 even if
    the gift was under $19,000. See
    Annual Exclusion, later.
    • Spouses may not file a joint gift tax return. Each individual is
    responsible to file a Form 709.
    • You must file a gift tax return to split gifts with your spouse
    (regardless of their amount) as described in
    Part III Spouse’s
    Consent on Gifts to Third Parties, later.
    • If a gift is of community property, it is considered made
    one-half by each spouse. For example, a gift of $100,000 of
    community property is considered a gift of $50,000 made by
    each spouse, and each spouse must file a gift tax return.
    • Likewise, each spouse must file a gift tax return if they have
    made a gift of property held by them as joint tenants or
    tenants by the entirety.
    • Only individuals are required to file gift tax returns. If a trust,
    estate, partnership, or corporation makes a gift, the
    individual beneficiaries, partners, or stockholders are
    considered donors and may be liable for the gift and GST
    taxes.
    • The donor is responsible for paying the gift tax. However, if
    the donor does not pay the tax, the person receiving the gift
    may have to pay the tax.
    • If a donor dies before filing a return, the donor’s executor
    must file the return.
    Who does not need to file. If you meet all of the following
    requirements, you are not required to file Form 709.
    • You made no gifts during the year to your spouse.
    • You did not give more than $19,000 to any one donee.
    • All the gifts you made were of present interests.
    Gifts to charities. If the only gifts you made during the year are
    deductible as gifts to charities, you do not need to file a return as
    long as you transferred your entire interest in the property to
    qualifying charities. If you transferred only a partial interest, or
    transferred part of your interest to someone other than a charity,
    you must still file a return and report all of your gifts to charities

     

    Transfers Not Subject to the Gift Tax
    Four types of transfers are not subject to the gift tax. These are:
    • Transfers to political organizations,
    • Transfers to certain exempt organizations,
    • Payments that qualify for the educational exclusion, and
    • Payments that qualify for the medical exclusion.

     

    Mike9241
    vista25Author
    Level 3
    January 25, 2026

    Thank you for your response.  However, this is from the 2025 709 instructions (see bold):

     

    Who does not need to file. If you meet all of the following
    requirements, you are not required to file Form 709.
    • You made no gifts during the year to your spouse.
    • You did not give more than $19,000 to any one donee.
    • All the gifts you made were of present interests.
    Gifts to charities. If the only gifts you made during the year are
    deductible as gifts to charities, you do not need to file a return as
    long as you transferred your entire interest in the property to
    qualifying charities. If you transferred only a partial interest, or
    transferred part of your interest to someone other than a charity,
    you must still file a return and report all of your gifts to charities.
    Note: See Pub. 526, Charitable Contributions, for more
    information on identifying a qualified charity.
    If you are required to file a return to report noncharitable gifts
    and you made gifts to charities, you must include all of your gifts
    to charities on the return.

     

    So, I think I may have to report all charity.  I do have to file because of a large gift I made to an individual in 2025.

    Mike9241
    Level 15
    Mike9241Level 15Answer
    Level 15
    January 25, 2026

    yes. if you made reportable gifts to non-charities, you need to report charitable donations 

    Mike9241
    Level 2
    October 7, 2026

    I am required to file Form 709 for several gifts to individuals in excess of the annual exclusion amount.  Since all gifts have to be reported, when listing the other gifts and charitable contributions on the Form 709 which are BELOW the annual exclusion, can they be COMBINED into one line item?  Otherwise I could have like 40 entries on this return.  

    M-MTax
    Level 15
    October 7, 2026

    No Grouping: You cannot group different charities together into a single line item. Each distinct charity requires its own separate entry on Schedule A because you must list the organization's unique name and address.

     

    Intra-Charity Combining: If you gave multiple cash donations to the same exact charity throughout the year, you can combine those into a single line item for that specific organization.

    Level 2
    October 7, 2026

    Do you agree that, if you are required to file Form 709 for other taxable gifts, you must also report on the Form 709 Schedule A every single charitable contribution which is on your Form 1040 Schedule A even though charitable contributions are not taxable for gift purposes? Most practitioners do not report charitable contributions but it says they are ALL reportable on Form 709 in the instructions

    M-MTax
    Level 15
    October 7, 2026

    Yes, and that is explicitly stated in the instructions.