Form 709 Filing - Gift Tax Question with Multiple Recipients Above and Below Reporting Limits

This is a really common question with gift tax reporting! Let me clear this up for you. When filing Form 709, your aunt would need to report ALL gifts made during the calendar year, even those under the annual exclusion amount (currently $17,000 per recipient for 2023). So both the $21,000 to Jason and the $6,000 to Melissa should be listed on the form. However, only the amount exceeding the annual exclusion ($4,000 in Jason's case) would count against her lifetime gift and estate tax exemption. As for your second question - yes, that strategy would work! If your aunt gives $11,000 to Jason and $11,000 to his wife Sarah, both gifts would be under the annual exclusion amount, and she wouldn't need to file Form 709 at all. The IRS treats spouses as separate individuals for gift tax purposes, so this is a completely legitimate planning strategy.

I was dealing with a similar gift tax situation last year and discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which was incredibly helpful with Form 709 questions. I uploaded the gift details and some questions I had about reporting thresholds, and their AI analyzed everything and provided really specific guidance based on my particular situation. The system even helped me understand how to properly report multiple gifts to different people and which ones needed to be included on the form.

Just wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai. I decided to try it after seeing it mentioned here, and wow - it completely simplified my Form 709 filing questions! I had a situation with multiple gifts (some to family trusts) and wasn't sure how to handle the reporting. The platform analyzed my specific scenario and provided step-by-step guidance that was way clearer than the IRS instructions. Honestly wish I'd known about this tool sooner - would have saved me hours of research and confusion with gift tax reporting!

After struggling with the IRS phone line for THREE DAYS trying to get gift tax questions answered (kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours), I finally found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). They got me connected to an actual IRS agent who walked me through my exact Form 709 situation. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. I was skeptical at first, but they literally called the IRS for me, navigated the phone tree, waited on hold, and then called me when an agent was on the line. The agent confirmed exactly how to handle multiple gifts across different recipients and which ones needed reporting.

I need to eat my words. After my skeptical comment, I was desperate enough to try Claimyr since my Form 709 filing deadline is coming up. I seriously couldn't believe it when my phone rang and there was an actual IRS agent on the line! Took less than 2 hours (which is nothing compared to the DAYS I spent trying before). The agent walked me through exactly how to handle my multi-recipient gift situation and confirmed I needed to list all gifts on the form once I exceeded the threshold with any single person. Saved me from making a potentially costly mistake on my gift tax reporting. Sometimes being proven wrong is a good thing!

One thing to remember with Form 709 reporting is that the annual exclusion is per recipient, per donor. So if your aunt had been married, she and her spouse could have given up to $34,000 to each person without needing to file (with gift splitting). But since she's widowed, she's limited to the individual exclusion amount.

Has anyone used one of those online gift tax calculators? I've seen a few but don't know if they're accurate for figuring out if I need to file. Gave money to my three kids last year, one got more than others.

I've been dealing with similar gift tax situations for years, and one thing that really helped me understand Form 709 requirements was keeping detailed records throughout the year. I create a simple spreadsheet tracking every gift over $100 to any recipient - it makes filing season so much easier! For your aunt's situation, the strategy of splitting between Jason and his wife Sarah is definitely smart. Just make sure she documents the gifts properly (bank records, check copies, etc.) in case the IRS ever asks. Also worth noting that if she plans to make regular large gifts in future years, she might want to consider setting up a more formal gifting strategy to maximize her lifetime exemption usage. One last tip - if your aunt decides to go with the Form 709 filing route, don't wait until the last minute. The form can be tricky to complete correctly, and you want time to double-check everything or get professional help if needed.

This is such a helpful thread! I'm dealing with a similar situation where my mom wants to help multiple grandchildren with college expenses. Based on what everyone's shared here, it sounds like the key is being strategic about timing and amounts. One thing I wanted to add - if your aunt is planning to help with education costs, she might want to consider paying tuition directly to the school instead of giving cash to the students. Those direct payments to educational institutions don't count toward the annual gift tax exclusion at all, so she could pay unlimited tuition amounts without any gift tax implications. Then she could still give each person up to the annual exclusion amount ($17,000 for 2023) on top of that. This could be a great way to maximize her giving without triggering Form 709 filing requirements. Just make sure the payments go directly to the institution - if she gives the money to the student who then pays tuition, it counts as a regular gift subject to the annual limits.