We all want to leave our kids a legacy — and if you’re a grandparent who’s built some wealth over the course of your lifetime, an amazing way to build upon that legacy is to gift some of your wealth to your family’s next generation.
By giving money to your grandchildren, you’ll be able to open up all sorts of doors and create new opportunities for them to chase their dreams. But you also need to tread carefully here.
There are rules on how much money you’re allowed to gift to grandkids tax-free. Likewise, you’re going to have a few different investment vehicles available to you as a way to gift money — but some are better than others.
This guide explains how much a grandparent can gift to a child, the best way to give money to a grandchild, and why you should consider gifting money to a child through a UGMA custodial account.
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How Much Can a Grandparent Give to a Grandchild Tax-Free?
It only makes sense that you’d want to pass on some of the generational wealth you’ve built to give your grandkids the gift of financial freedom. But before you do, you should be aware of how the IRS may or may not tax those gifts.
If you want to gift money to a grandchild, you’ll be delighted to know it’s possible to transfer cash or other assets over to a child without having to pay taxes on those transfers — but only up to a certain amount.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) imposes a cap on the amount of money that you’re allowed to gift to somebody without having to pay tax on that gift. This cap is called the IRS Gift Tax exemption. You’ll also hear people refer to the Gift Tax exemption as the “Gift Tax limit” — but both terms mean the same thing.
The IRS Gift Tax was introduced by the US Government a long time ago to prevent individuals from avoiding paying the estate tax by gifting all of their assets away before they die. Now, the IRS taxes all monetary gifts worth more than the Gift Tax exemption.
There are two different types of Gift Tax exemptions: the annual Gift Tax exemption and the lifetime Gift Tax exemption.
In 2022, the annual IRS gift tax limit is $16,000 per person per year. That means you could gift up to $16,000 to five different grandchildren in a single year without having to even report it on your taxes.
This works similarly if you’re married. If you and your spouse jointly file your taxes, you can gift up to $32,000 per year. That means you and your spouse could theoretically gift $32,000 to each of your grandchildren, another $32,000 to each of your children, and $32,000 to all of your nieces and nephews in one year without having to pay the Gift Tax — or even report the gifts.
In addition to your annual limit, you also have a lifetime exemption of $12.06 million. Every time you go above your annual Gift Tax limit, the excess amount you’ve given will start to get tallied up against your lifetime exemption. If you go above your lifetime exemption, you’ll need to start paying taxes on future gifts to grandchildren.
What is the Best Way to Give Money to a Grandchild?
As a grandparent, it’s important that you understand all of the tax implications of your monetary gifts to grandchildren before you pass on your wealth. But it’s also vital that you have a firm grasp of all the options available to you regarding how you pass on that wealth.
There is a wide range of investment vehicles that you can use to gift money to grandchildren — but each option inevitably comes with its own advantages and disadvantages. To help you get started, let’s break down a few of the most common vehicles grandparents use to give money to their grandkids.
UGMA custodial account
A UGMA custodial account is one of the most flexible and simple ways that you can gift money to grandchildren.
A custodial account is an investment vehicle that an adult can set up for a child beneficiary. When an adult creates a custodial account, they serve as the account’s custodian until the account beneficiary reaches the age of majority, which is either 18 or 21 depending on the state.
That means you’ll make management decisions about the account until the child is old enough to take responsibility for their assets. But even though the child can’t manage the account’s assets, everything in a UGMA account is the legal property of that child.
This is also a major benefit from a tax point of view. Because everything in a custodial account belongs to its child beneficiary, any unearned income generated through compound interest or stock dividends will be taxed at the child’s lower tax rate (up to a certain threshold). This is called the “Kiddie Tax,” and it can noticeably reduce a family’s tax burden.
Custodial accounts don’t have contribution limits, either. This means you’re free to gift as much cash to your grandchildren as you’d like to without getting penalized — you’ll just need to be aware of the Gift Tax limit.
If setting up a UGMA custodial account sounds like an avenue you’d like to explore, you should definitely check out EarlyBird.
EarlyBird’s easy-to-use app makes setting up a UGMA account fast and simple. And unlike other custodial account providers, EarlyBird also enables multiple family members to contribute to the same child’s account in just a few swipes. That can help build a pretty sizable nest egg long before your grandkids ever need it.
The adult setting up an EarlyBird account can choose from a range of portfolios that match their investment style and risk appetite.
Plus, EarlyBird enables you to create a personalized video to accompany financial gifts.
Finally, a grandparent can gift money to a grandchild through EarlyBird even if they don’t have an account yet. That means if the child’s parents would like to set up the investment account but just haven’t gotten around to it yet, gifting through EarlyBird can give them a proactive nudge in the right direction.
Trust fund
It’s also possible for grandparents to give money to grandchildren through a trust fund. If you’re unfamiliar with trust funds, they’re essentially just estate planning tools that create a legal entity to hold on to money or assets for a person until certain conditions are met. Once those conditions are met, the assets are then passed on to a beneficiary.
Families tend to use trust funds to protect the total value of their estate by reducing the inheritance tax for beneficiaries.
The key benefit you get with a trust fund is that you can set rules of whether your beneficiary can or can’t use the funds during a certain age. That means you can set up a trust dictating that your grandkids don’t get the money you’ve saved for them until they turn 30 or that it can only be used to pay for college costs or student loans.
This really places you in the driver’s seat in terms of deciding when, where, and how your grandkids will be able to use a financial gift.
That being said, there are a couple of drawbacks to using a trust fund to gift money.
First and foremost, setting up a trust is complicated and can be expensive. You’ll generally need to get a lawyer involved, and then you’ll have to set up a legal entity and appoint trustees to oversee it. There are also usually management or maintenance fees involved.
Another drawback you should be aware of is that your grandchildren will still likely need to pay a capital gains tax on anything they profit from within the trust.
529 plan
You can also use a 529 college savings plan to gift money to a grandchild as part of a wider education fund that can only be used for educational expenses, like college tuition.
A 529 plan is a tax-beneficial investment account designed to help families save money for a child’s future educational expenses. When you set up a 529 plan for a child, all the cash you invest in that account is allowed to grow free of federal taxes.
At the point of withdrawal, you won’t get taxed on any of that money, either — but only as long as the cash is being used to pay for a “qualified education expense.”
If you or your grandkids try to use money from a 529 plan to pay for something else (like a car to get to school or off-campus accommodation), the withdrawal becomes taxable. You’ll also normally have to pay a 10% penalty — which is one reason a lot of families choose to set up a UGMA custodial account alongside a 529 plan. 529 plans are generally quite restrictive regarding how you can use your investments.
Likewise, if you gift money to grandchildren through a 529 plan and they decide not to get a college education, you’ll end up having to pay taxes on everything in the account and pay a penalty.
Conclusion
As a grandparent, you want to leave a financial legacy behind for your grandchildren by passing on generational wealth, setting them up for success in life. But before you start gifting money, it’s critical that you understand the tax implications of those cash gifts — as well as the range of investment vehicles available to you.
There are plenty of options out there. But if you’re looking for a flexible and tax-efficient way to give money to grandchildren, one of your best bets is going to be to gift through a UGMA account provider like EarlyBird.
Ready to start giving money to grandchildren and helping develop their financial habits? Download the EarlyBird app now.
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This page contains general information and does not contain financial advice. All investments involve risk. Any hypothetical performance shown is for illustrative purposes only. Actual investment performance may be different for many reasons, including, but not limited to, market fluctuations, time horizon, taxes, and fees. Please consult a qualified financial advisor and/or tax professional for investment guidance.
For 2022, the annual exclusion amount is $16,000 for individuals and $32,000 for married couples. A couple with two children and three grandchildren would be able to make annual exclusions to each of them for a total $160,000 of tax-free gifts each year.
Establish a savings account at a local financial institution with a grandchild and make a contribution to it. Turn a financial gift into a lesson by going to the store with them to purchase what they want. Talk about the costs and give them opportunities to put some of the gift into their savings.
To do this, you've got to use IRS Form 709 when filing your annual tax return. You need to complete and submit Form 709 for any year that you make a taxable gift. Sending in the form doesn't necessarily mean you'll have to pay anything on the gift—it's just the form you'll need to use to declare the gift.
On average, grandparents spend between $50 and $100 on birthday presents for each grandchild. Depending, of course, on various factors like how old the child is, finances, and how many grandkids there are in the family. Grandchildren certainly don't come cheap.
Filing Form 709: First, the IRS primarily finds out about gifts if you report them using Form 709. As a requirement, gifts exceeding $15,000 must be reported on this form.
You may give each grandchild up to $16,000 a year (in 2022) without having to report the gifts. If you're married, both you and your spouse can make such gifts. For example, a married couple with four grandchildren may give away up to $128,000 a year with no gift tax implications.
Accounts of the UGMA (Uniform Gifts to Minors Act) and UTMA (Uniform Transfer to Minors Act) varieties let you stockpile assets on your grandchild's behalf. Also called custodial accounts, they can hold cash, stocks and bonds that will transfer to your grandchild's possession at a specified age (usually 18 or 21).
A child trust fund or a bare trust is a good option if you want to put money towards your grandchild's future without having to forgo any control. When you set up a child trust fund, you name the grandchild in question and also determine who manages that trust. It does not have to be you, but you may want it to be.
Sending a wire transfer through your bank might be the best way to send a large amount quickly. As convenient as P2P apps are, they limit how much you can send, generally $1,000 to $10,000 per transfer, and delivery can take multiple days.
So, if you need to give someone a gift that is larger than $15,000, get together with your spouse, and both give a gift. If you need to gift more than $30,000 combined, your only other option to avoid the Gift Tax would be to spread out the amount of money you give over a few years.
The general rule is that any gift is a taxable gift. However, there are many exceptions to this rule. Generally, the following gifts are not taxable gifts. Gifts that are not more than the annual exclusion for the calendar year.
If you dive in deeper to see how this spending shakes out, you'll see that the average amount per grandchild comes to around $218. A 2021 poll by OppLoans of 1,700 grandparents also shows that spending isn't equal across the sexes. Grandfathers seemingly spend a little more on holiday gifts than grandmothers ($244 vs.
Hence, if the aggregate value of gifts received during the year exceeds Rs. 50,000, then total value of all such gifts received during the year will be charged to tax (i.e. the total amount of gift and not the amount in excess of Rs. 50,000).
The average spent is $2,562. Some grandparents, though, are shelling out far more on their grandchildren's education costs alone, with 21%, or about 14.7 million, providing an average $4,075 annually. ... Spending on grandchildren.
Give financial assets through a Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (UGMA) or Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA) custodial account. These accounts allow you to gift and transfer any amount of money, securities, and even property to a minor.
When it comes into play, this tax is owed by the giver of the gift, not the recipient. You probably have never paid it and probably will never have to. The law completely ignores 2022 gifts of up to $16,000 per person, per year, that you give to any number of individuals.
A gift letter is a statement that ensures your lender the money that came into your account is a gift and not a loan. The person who gave you the money must write and sign the gift letter as well as provide their personal information.
Once an individual has decided that they would like to make a gift to their grandchildren, either during their lifetime or in their Will, they should carefully consider whether they wish for the gift to be an outright gift or a gift into trust. Legally, children cannot hold property whilst they are under the age of 18.
A long-term gift for a child: Savings bonds can help magnify your financial gift by growing over time. They are a practical monetary gift that can help set a child up for a brighter financial future. No commissions or fees: Savings bonds are purchased from TreasuryDirect rather than through a stockbroker.
There's no limit to how much you can give tax free, as long as: you can afford the payments after meeting your usual living costs. you pay from your regular monthly income.
1. A family pot trust for all of your descendants. If you have a large family and want to give discretion to your trustee for distribution of assets, a family pot trust may work for your needs.
To open these types of saving accounts for a grandchild, the grandparent would typically just need to provide proof of identity, such as a birth certificate. It's also handy to note that the interest on a child's savings account won't be taxed if the money comes from a grandparent.
A Bare Trust can also be used to gift money into Trust for grandchildren. The gift into a Bare Trust is classed as a Potentially Exempt Transfer rather than a 'Chargeable Lifetime Transfer' as with Discretionary Trusts.
The only way to get a paper savings bond is to use your IRS tax refund. With your tax refund, you can buy savings bonds for anyone (yourself, your child, or as a gift to anyone). If you buy paper savings bonds, we mail the savings bonds to you. You can then give the gift bonds yourself to the gift recipient.
Over long time periods, investing in the stock market usually outperforms saving in a bank account or savings account (but there's no guarantee). So the younger the child is, the more likely that investing will outperform saving.
Do Banks Offer 7% Interest On Savings Accounts? 7% interest isn't something banks offer in the US, but one credit union, Landmark CU, pays 7.50% interest, though there are major requirements and stipulations.
Technically, you can gift as much money to your children or other family members as you like, but in order for your gift to be Inheritance Tax-free, you would need to live for at least seven years from the date the gift is made.
You may give each grandchild up to $16,000 a year (in 2022) without having to report the gifts. If you're married, both you and your spouse can make such gifts. For example, a married couple with four grandchildren may give away up to $128,000 a year with no gift tax implications.
The annual federal gift tax exclusion allows you to give away up to $16,000 each in 2022 to as many people as you wish without those gifts counting against your $12.06 million lifetime exemption.
In theory, anyone can gift you a deposit. In reality, however, most mortgage lenders prefer if the person giving you the money is a relative, such as a parent, sibling, or grandparent. Some lenders have even stricter requirements, stating it must be a parent that gives you the money.
Whether your assets become gifts or inheritance, your heirs usually face no tax liability on them: Any gift taxes or estate taxes due are typically your or your estate's liabilities. However, if you gift appreciated assets during your lifetime, those assets' original cost basis transfers with the gifts.
Like we've mentioned before, the annual exclusion limit (the cap on tax-free gifts) is a whopping $16,000 per person per year for 2022 (it's $17,000 for gifts made in 2023). So, even if you do give outrageously, you wouldn't have to file a gift tax return unless you went over those limits.
You most likely won't owe any gift taxes on a gift your parents make to you. Depending on the amount, your parents may need to file a gift tax return. If they give you or any other individual more than $34,000 in 2023 ($17,000 per parent), they will need to file some paperwork.
That means that you and your spouse can each gift up to $15,000 to anyone, including adult children, with no gift tax implications. If your child purchases a home with a spouse or fiancé, you and your spouse could each gift up to $15,000 to the buyers for a total of $60,000.
For parents, making a down payment gift represents one of many ways to transfer wealth, often with fewer tax implications. For tax year 2022, you and a spouse can each gift your child up to $16,000, for a total of $32,000, without triggering the gift tax.
Introduction: My name is Dean Jakubowski Ret, I am a enthusiastic, friendly, homely, handsome, zealous, brainy, elegant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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