After staying the same for five years- the amount you can give away to any one individual in a particular year without reporting the gift will increase in 2018.
The annual gift tax exclusion for 2018 is rising from $14-000 to $15-000. This means that any person who gives away $15-000 or less to any one individual (anyone other than their spouse) does not have to report the gift or gifts to the IRS.
If you give away more than $15-000- you do not necessary have to pay taxes- but you will have to file a gift tax return (Form 709). The IRS allows individuals to give away a total of $5.6 million and couples $11.2 million (in 2018) during their lifetimes before a gift tax is owed. This $5.6 million exclusion means that even if you have to file a gift tax return (Form 709) because you gave away more than $15-000 to any one person in a particular year- you will owe taxes only if you have given away more than a total of $5.6 million (or $11.2 million) in the past. As a result- the filing of a gift tax return is merely a formality for nearly everyone.
The gift tax also applies to property other than money- such as stock. If you give away property that is worth more than $15-000 you have to report that on your gift return.
Note that gifts to a spouse are usually not subject to any federal gift taxes as long as the spouse is a U.S. citizen. If your spouse is not a U.S. citizen- you can give only $152-000 without reporting the gift (in 2018). Anything over that amount has to be reported on the gift tax return. Also- you do not need to report tax deductible gifts made to charities on a gift tax return unless you retain some interest in the gifted property.
With the increase in the gift tax- the amount you can give to an ABLE account is also increasing to $15-000. ABLE accounts allow people with disabilities and their families to save up to $100-000 in accounts for disability related expenses without jeopardizing their eligibility for Medicaid- Supplemental Security Income (SSI)- and other government benefits.