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2010

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

Instructions for Form 709

United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return

For gifts made during calendar year 2010.

•

instructions on pages that would

If you gave gifts to someone in 2010

Section references are to the Internal

otherwise be blank. You can help bring

totalling more than $13,000 (other than to

Revenue Code unless otherwise noted.

these children home by looking at the

your spouse), you probably must file

For Disclosure, Privacy Act, and

photographs and calling 1-800-THE-

Form 709. But see Gifts to Spouse and

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see

LOST (1-800-843-5678) if you recognize

Transfers Not Subject to Gift Tax, later,

below.

a child.

for more information on specific gifts that

are not taxable.

Use

•

General Instructions

Certain gifts, called future interests, are

For Gifts

Revision of

not subject to the $13,000 annual

Made

Form 709

exclusion and you must file Form 709

After

and

Before

Dated

Purpose of Form

even if the gift was under $13,000. See

– – – – –

January 1,

November

Annual Exclusion, later.

Use Form 709 to report the following:

1982

1981

•

A husband and wife may not file a joint

Transfers subject to the federal gift and

gift tax return. Each individual is

certain generation-skipping transfer

December

January 1,

January

responsible for his or her own Form 709.

(GST) taxes and to figure the tax, if any,

31, 1981

1987

•

You must file a gift tax return to split

due on those transfers and

December

January 1,

December

•

gifts with your spouse (regardless of their

Allocation of the lifetime GST

31, 1986

1989

1988

amount) as described in Part 1 — General

exemption to property transferred during

Information.

December

January 1,

December

the transferor’s lifetime. (For more details,

•

31, 1988

1990

1989

If a gift is of community property, it is

see Part 2 — GST Exemption

considered made one-half by each

Reconciliation, later, and Regulations

December

October 9,

October

spouse. For example, a gift of $100,000

section 26.2632-1.)

31, 1989

1990

of community property is considered a gift

All gift and GST taxes must be

October 8,

January 1,

November

of $50,000 made by each spouse, and

computed and filed on a calendar

1990

1992

1991

each spouse must file a gift tax return.

year basis. List all reportable gifts

•

CAUTION

Likewise, each spouse must file a gift

December

January 1,

December

made during the calendar year on one

tax return if they have made a gift of

31, 1992

1998

1996

Form 709. This means, you must file a

property held by them as joint tenants or

separate return for each calendar year a

December

– – – – –

tenants by the entirety.

reportable gift is given (for example, a gift

31, 1997

•

Only individuals are required to file gift

given in 2010 must be reported on a 2010

tax returns. If a trust, estate, partnership,

Form 709). Do not file more than one

* Use the corresponding annual form.

or corporation makes a gift, the individual

Form 709 for any one calendar year.

beneficiaries, partners, or stockholders

What’s New

How To Complete Form 709

are considered donors and may be liable

•

for the gift and GST taxes.

The annual gift exclusion for 2010

1. Determine whether you are

•

The donor is responsible for paying the

remains $13,000. See Annual Exclusion,

required to file Form 709.

gift tax. However, if the donor does not

later.

2. Determine what gifts you must

•

pay the tax, the person receiving the gift

For gifts made to spouses who are not

report.

may have to pay the tax.

U.S. citizens, the annual exclusion has

3. Decide whether you and your

•

If a donor dies before filing a return, the

increased to $134,000. See Nonresident

spouse, if any, will elect to split gifts for

donor’s executor must file the return.

Aliens later.

the year.

•

The top rate on gifts is now 35%. See

Who does not need to file. If you meet

4. Complete lines 1 through 18 of

Table for Computing Gift Tax.

all of the following requirements, you are

Part 1, page 1.

•

For 2010, the generation-skipping

not required to file Form 709:

5. List each gift on Part 1, 2, or 3 of

•

transfer tax rate is 0%.

You made no gifts during the year to

Schedule A, as appropriate.

•

The unified credit for 2010 is $330,800.

your spouse,

6. Complete Schedule B, if applicable.

•

Section 302(d)(2) of the Tax Relief,

You did not give more than $13,000 to

7. If the gift was listed on Part 2 or 3

Unemployment Insurance

any one donee, and

of Schedule A, complete the necessary

•

Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of

All the gifts you made were of present

portions of Schedule C.

2010 (Pub. L. 111-312) mandates that

interests.

8. Complete Schedule A, Part 4.

any unified credit allocated to gifts made

9. Complete Part 2 on page 1.

Gifts to charities. If the only gifts you

in prior periods be redetermined using

10. Sign and date the return.

made during the year are deductible as

current gift tax rates. See instructions for

gifts to charities, you do not need to file a

column C in Schedule B. Gifts From Prior

return as long as you transferred your

Remember, if you are splitting

Periods, below, for more details.

gifts, your spouse must sign line

entire interest in the property to qualifying

TIP

18, in Part 1 – General Information.

charities. If you transferred only a partial

Photographs of Missing

interest, or transferred part of your

Children

Who Must File

interest to someone other than a charity,

you must still file a return and report all of

The IRS is a proud partner with the

In general. If you are a citizen or resident

your gifts to charities.

National Center for Missing and Exploited

of the United States, you must file a gift

Children. Photographs of missing children

tax return (whether or not any tax is

If you are required to file a return to

selected by the Center may appear in

ultimately due) in the following situations.

report noncharitable gifts and you made

Cat. No. 16784X

Instructions For Form 709 - United States Gift (And Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return - 2010

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