Whenever you give someone more than the annual (yearly) exemption amount, you are supposed to file a gift-tax return. There is a tax on the givers of gifts. Or course, there is a lifetime exemption of $5 million so until you give more than that, you won't owe any tax (it used to be $1 million and could revert back to that if Congress lets it happen in 2013). But, you still have to file a return if you give someone more than $13,000 in any one year. Most people don't make large gifts, so they don't have to worry about gift-tax returns. But many people do give away their home or land (or add their child's name to the deed as a co-owner). If you put your home in joint ownership with your child, you effectively gave that child half of the value of your home. Unless your home is pretty small it's probably worth more than $26,000, so you should file a gift-tax return. Now, the IRS is cracking down on this issue. They have targeted several states and demanded that the stat...
This blog is written by Elder Law Attorney, Edward H. Adamsky. You will find articles about Elder Law, Estate Planning, Special Needs, Disability, Alzheimer's Disease, Powers of Attorney, Health Care Directives, and other issues of important to families and elders.