Gift Tax Exclusion 2027
The IRS has not announced the 2027 amounts yet. Computed from the statute and inflation data, the 2027 annual gift tax exclusion should be $20,000 per recipient, up from $19,000 in 2026. The estate and lifetime gift exemption (the basic exclusion amount) is $15,000,000 for 2026 and rises with inflation in 2027; we show the IRS figure once it is published (see why below).
Maintained by Archie Chang · Amounts computed from statute and BLS data October 23, 2026 · Methodology & sources
Status: computed, not official. The IRS publishes next year's amounts in a Revenue Procedure, usually in October or November; the 2026 one (Rev. Proc. 2025-32) came out on October 9, 2025. Until then every 2027 figure here is our computation. Follow the IRS newsroom or read the 2026 announcement. General information, not tax advice.
2027 gift and estate tax amounts compared with 2026
| Amount | 2027 | Status | 2026 (official) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual gift tax exclusion, per recipient | $20,000 | Computed; IRS has not confirmed | $19,000 |
| Annual exclusion, gifts to a non-citizen spouse | $200,000 or $201,000 | Computed; the two October 2025 treatments differ | $194,000 |
| Basic exclusion amount (estate and lifetime gift exemption) | Not announced yet | Not announced yet | $15,000,000 |
| Generation-skipping transfer (GST) exemption | Not announced yet | Not announced yet | $15,000,000 |
The exclusion is per recipient and per donor. The GST exemption equals the basic exclusion amount (section 2631(c)).
2027 gift tax exclusion calculator
Uses a $20,000 annual exclusion (computed, not yet confirmed by the IRS) and a $15,000,000 lifetime exemption per person (the 2026 amount, because 2027 is not announced).
- Total gifts
- $75,000
- Exclusion per recipient
- $20,000
- Covered by annual exclusions
- $60,000
- Counts against lifetime exemption
- $15,000
Lifetime exemption left per person after these gifts (estimate)
$14,985,000
No gift tax is owed until the lifetime exemption is used up.
A gift tax return (Form 709) would be required for these gifts.
Assumes outright gifts to people other than your spouse and no earlier taxable gifts. Inputs are capped at 10,000 recipients and $1,000,000,000,000 each; invalid values count as zero.
How the 2027 amounts are computed
Annual exclusion. Section 2503(b)(2) raises $10,000 by the section 1(f)(3) adjustment (base year 1997) and rounds down to a multiple of $1,000, using the chained CPI average for the 12 months to August 2026. That gives about $20,119, which rounds down to $20,000. The non-citizen spouse limit applies the same factor to $100,000 (section 2523(i)).
Basic exclusion amount. Section 2010(c)(3) starts at $15,000,000 and, after 2026, adds that amount times the adjustment with 2025 as the base year, rounded to the nearest $10,000. For a base year after 2016 the adjustment compares two C-CPI-U averages:
- September 2025 to August 2026 average: 182.856 (published months only).
- September 2024 to August 2025 average: 177.206.
- The ratio is 1.03189, an increase of about 3.19% (3.06% if the missing October 2025 index is filled in as the average of September and November). The IRS applies it to $15,000,000 and rounds to the nearest $10,000.
We do not publish a 2027 dollar figure for this amount. Under the old law, the same machinery reproduces the official amount in only 2 of the 8 indexed years and is $10,000 low in the others, and our site rule is to publish a computed value only when every past year matches. We will add the IRS figure when it is out.
Gift splitting for married couples
Under section 2513, spouses who both consent can treat a gift to a third person as made half by each. Both must be U.S. citizens or residents and married to each other when the gift is made. A couple can then give up to twice the annual exclusion to each recipient: $38,000 in 2026 and about $40,000 in 2027 on our computation. The election covers all gifts to others that year and requires Form 709.
Form 709 basics for 2027 gifts
You file Form 709 if you gave one person more than the annual exclusion, gave a future interest, elected gift splitting, or gave a non-citizen spouse more than the spousal limit. Each donor files separately.
The return for 2027 gifts is normally due April 15, 2028, a Saturday. Emancipation Day is observed on Monday, April 17, so the expected date is Tuesday, April 18, 2028. Extending your income tax return also extends the time to file Form 709, but not the time to pay any gift tax due.
The higher exemption in the 2025 law
The basic exclusion amount was scheduled to fall by about half after 2025. Section 70106 of Pub. L. 119-21 set it at $15,000,000 for 2026 and removed that end date, so there is no scheduled expiration. Congress can still change it.
Back-test against official IRS amounts, 2018 to 2026
The annual exclusion and non-citizen spouse limit match all 9 official years exactly. The basic exclusion amount (old law: base year 2010) matches 2 of the 8 indexed years and is one $10,000 step low in the rest. BLS revises C-CPI-U after first publication, which likely explains it, but because it does not match every year we do not publish a 2027 figure for it. The 2026 figure is set by statute.
| Year | Annual exclusion | Non-citizen spouse | Basic exclusion amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | $15,000 ✓ | $152,000 ✓ | $11,180,000 (we get $11,170,000) |
| 2019 | $15,000 ✓ | $155,000 ✓ | $11,400,000 (we get $11,390,000) |
| 2020 | $15,000 ✓ | $157,000 ✓ | $11,580,000 (we get $11,570,000) |
| 2021 | $15,000 ✓ | $159,000 ✓ | $11,700,000 ✓ |
| 2022 | $16,000 ✓ | $164,000 ✓ | $12,060,000 (we get $12,050,000) |
| 2023 | $17,000 ✓ | $175,000 ✓ | $12,920,000 ✓ |
| 2024 | $18,000 ✓ | $185,000 ✓ | $13,610,000 (we get $13,600,000) |
| 2025 | $19,000 ✓ | $190,000 ✓ | $13,990,000 (we get $13,980,000) |
| 2026 | $19,000 ✓ | $194,000 ✓ | $15,000,000 (set by statute) |
Gift tax exclusion 2027 questions
What is the annual gift tax exclusion for 2027?
The IRS has not announced it. Computed, it should be $20,000 per recipient, up from $19,000 in 2026.
What is the lifetime gift and estate tax exemption for 2027?
The IRS has not announced it. The 2026 amount is $15,000,000. From 2027 the law raises it by the change in the chained CPI from the 12 months ending August 2025 to the 12 months ending August 2026 (about 3.2%), rounded to the nearest $10,000. Our reconstruction of past years misses the official amount by $10,000 in six of the eight indexed years, so we wait for the IRS figure instead of publishing our own.
Does gift splitting double the annual exclusion?
Yes. When both spouses consent on Form 709 (both must be U.S. citizens or residents and married at the time of the gift), each gift to a third party counts as made half by each, so a couple can give up to twice the annual exclusion per recipient ($38,000 in 2026) without using lifetime exemption.
Do I owe gift tax if I give more than the annual exclusion?
Usually not. The excess is reported on Form 709 and reduces your lifetime exemption; gift tax is owed only after your cumulative taxable gifts exceed it.
Who has to file Form 709 and when?
Anyone who gave one person more than the annual exclusion, gave a future interest, elected gift splitting, or gave a spouse who is not a U.S. citizen more than the spousal limit. Gifts made in 2027 are due April 15, 2028, a Saturday; with Emancipation Day observed Monday, April 17, the expected date is Tuesday, April 18, 2028.
Is the higher estate tax exemption permanent?
It has no scheduled expiration. The 2025 law (Pub. L. 119-21) set it at $15,000,000 for 2026 and removed the end date that would have cut it about in half. Congress can still change it.
Authoritative sources: IRS newsroom · IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 amounts) · IRS gift tax · IRS Form 709 · 26 U.S.C. 2503 · 26 U.S.C. 2010 · BLS C-CPI-U