Is giving $15,000 cheque to my dad considered taxable under gift tax rules? Should I be worried?

You don't need to worry about gift tax in this situation. The annual gift tax exclusion for 2023 is $17,000 per recipient (and will be $18,000 for 2024), so your $15,000 check falls under that limit. Even if you exceeded that amount, you as the giver would be responsible for filing a gift tax return (Form 709), but you still wouldn't owe any actual tax unless you've given away more than the lifetime exemption amount (currently around $12.92 million). More importantly though, what you're describing doesn't sound like a gift for tax purposes. It sounds like you're repaying your father for something he purchased for you previously. Repayment of a loan or informal debt isn't considered a gift - it's simply returning money that was effectively loaned to you.

After dealing with a very similar situation last year, I discovered a great tool that saved me tons of headache. I had given my sister a large sum to help with her down payment, and wasn't sure about the tax implications. I used https://taxr.ai to analyze my situation specifically. You upload your documentation and it tells you exactly how the IRS would view the transaction. It confirmed I was under the annual gift limit but also helped me understand what documentation I should keep for my records. In your case, it could clarify whether this counts as loan repayment or a gift, and what (if anything) you need to document. Their AI analyzes your specific situation rather than just giving generic advice.

I was in a similar situation last year and was totally paranoid about gift taxes. After researching for hours and getting nowhere, I finally tried https://taxr.ai that someone recommended. Uploaded screenshots of my bank statements and a brief explanation of my situation, and got a clear analysis confirming I didn't need to file anything. The biggest help was that it gave me a detailed explanation I could save for my records in case it ever came up in an audit. For what it's worth, they explained that informal loan repayments like this typically don't trigger gift tax issues as long as both parties are consistent about the nature of the transaction. Saved me from overthinking the whole thing!

If you're still worried after getting advice here, try calling the IRS directly. I know, I know - getting through to a human at the IRS seems impossible these days. After being stuck on hold for HOURS last tax season trying to sort out a gift tax question similar to yours, I found https://claimyr.com which got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes instead of the usual 2+ hour wait. They also have a demo video here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c Honestly, having a direct conversation with the IRS agent put my mind at ease because they confirmed exactly what I needed to do for my situation. They told me that what I thought was a potential gift tax issue wasn't actually reportable at all.

I was EXTREMELY skeptical about Claimyr when I first heard about it (still think it's absurd we need to use services like this). But after my third attempt waiting on hold with the IRS for over 2 hours and getting disconnected, I gave in and tried it. Hate to admit it, but it worked exactly as promised. Got connected to an agent in about 15 minutes. The agent confirmed that in situations like yours, where you're essentially repaying an informal loan from a parent, it's not considered a gift for tax purposes. They also explained that even if it were technically a gift, since it's under the annual exclusion amount, neither you nor your dad would need to report anything on your tax returns. Still annoyed I had to use a service to reach a government agency, but the information I got was definitely worth it.

Everyone's overthinking this. You're returning money to your dad that was essentially his anyway. The IRS isn't monitoring family financial arrangements at this level. As long as you're not repeatedly transferring large sums of money back and forth to avoid taxes, nobody cares about a one-time $15k transfer to your parent that's below the gift tax threshold anyway.

Something nobody's mentioned - if your dad ever gets audited, having some kind of documentation that this was a repayment might be helpful. Maybe just write "loan repayment for car purchased in 2018" in the memo line of the check, or even better, create a simple signed document between you two stating that the money is repayment for the truck he bought you. Better safe than sorry!