By Jackie Phan, CPA, Tax Manager
ASL Family Wealth & Individual Tax Group
The season of giving is almost upon us, but will generosity to friends and family trigger a gift tax return filing requirement? The main tax advantage of gifting during your lifetime is the removal of assets that would otherwise be included in your gross estate and be subject to federal estate tax upon your passing. But even if your estate is under the current estate tax filing threshold of $5.49 million per taxpayer for 2017 (or $5.6 million in 2018), you may still be required to report gifts you made during the tax year. The annual gift tax return, IRS Form 709, is due April 15th following the calendar year the reportable gifts were made.