Give Your Tax-Free Gifts Now, Before the Year Ends
It’s hard to find much to be cheerful about at this time of year, especially in 2025. Yes, you are a year older and worse off financially than you ever thought you would be at this age, but that happens every year, and by now, you have enough wisdom to chalk it up to your younger self’s unrealistic expectations. This year, the biggest problem is that the 21st century is a quarter of the way over, and it has turned out to be more dystopian than anyone ever imagined. Despite this, you can still think of ways that things would be demonstrably better for some of the people in your life if they had a little bit more money. If you have enough money that you can afford to give some of it away, then not only will you be helping the recipients, but you will also be making progress on your estate plan. To find out how the annual gift tax exclusion, the most feel-good of all estate planning rules, can help your estate plan, contact a Washington, D.C. estate planning lawyer.
A Cash Gift Can Be the Perfect End to an Awful Year
The annual gift tax exclusion enables you to give monetary gifts without paying gift taxes, as long as the amount you give to any individual recipient does not exceed the annual gift tax exclusion limit. The biggest reason to give cash gifts is that people in your life probably need them. Young adults are struggling financially, as the costs of most necessities are high, wages are stagnant, job security and the social safety net are receding, and anyone’s job could be replaced by AI tomorrow. Among Generation Z, the difference between the haves and the have nots is that the former group has family members who can float them money to get them through one or two rounds of bills, while the latter group does not. Your cash gift to your son, daughter, niece, nephew, or grandchild can make the recipient feel like the luckiest person in his or her social circle; if possible, the recipient will probably use some of the money to help others.
How Much Money Can You Give Away This Year?
The annual gift tax exclusion limit, which is the maximum amount you can give to each recipient in one year, varies from one year to the next. The amount for 2025 is $19,000, and it will remain the same for 2026. There is no limit to the number of recipients to whom you can give cash gifts in a single year. There is a lifetime limit to cash gifts, but it is unlikely that you are wealthy enough to reach that limit in your lifetime.
Contact Tobin O’Connor Concino P.C. About the Annual Gift Tax Exclusion
A Washington, D.C. estate planning attorney can help you give cash gifts strategically, within the annual gift tax exclusion, to help the beneficiaries and simplify your estate plan. Contact Tobin O’Connor Concino P.C. in Washington, D.C. or call 202-362-5900.
Source:
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