In U.S. personal finance, the annual federal tax-free gift amount per recipient in 2024 was $18,000.
This is the federal annual gift-tax exclusion: a donor could give up to $18,000 to each recipient during 2024 without using the donor’s lifetime gift-tax and estate-tax exemption for that gift. The exclusion applies separately to each recipient, so gifts to several people can each qualify. It concerns federal gift-tax reporting and is not a general limit on all transfers.
The amount is adjusted periodically for inflation, which is why it differs from earlier and later years. Gifts between U.S.-citizen spouses generally receive special treatment, and some direct payments for qualifying medical or educational expenses can be excluded under separate rules. State laws and individual circumstances may differ from federal rules.