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Internal Revenue Service

Fill out Form 709 online

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

Form 709 is the federal return for reporting gifts and generation-skipping transfers (GSTs) that are subject to tax, and for figuring any gift or GST tax due on them. It is also where a donor allocates lifetime GST exemption to property given away. Only individuals file it, and each person files their own return for each calendar year in which they made reportable gifts.

Fill out Form 709Blank form from the IRS

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Edition
Tax year 2025
Pages
10
Fillable fields
1851
Checked against the IRS
November 8, 2026

GuruPDF is not affiliated with the Internal Revenue Service. This page explains the form in plain words; it is not legal or tax advice. Always check the official instructions before you file. This is the tax year 2025 version; the IRS keeps forms for earlier years.

Who uses Form 709

  • U.S. citizens and residents who gave any one person more than the annual exclusion amount during the year (gifts to a spouse follow separate rules)
  • Donors who gave a gift of a future interest, whatever its value
  • Married couples who choose to split their gifts to third parties
  • Donors allocating GST exemption to gifts, including transfers to trusts
  • Executors filing for a donor who died before the return was filed

Before you start

  • The donor's social security number (or an ITIN already used on other U.S. tax returns), current mailing address, legal residence (domicile) and citizenship
  • A list of every reportable gift made during 2025: who received it and their address, their relationship to you, a description, the date, the fair market value on that date and your adjusted basis
  • Support for each value, such as appraisals, Form 712 for a gift of life insurance, and for a first transfer to a trust, a certified or verified copy of the trust instrument
  • Your earlier Forms 709 or 709-A, if you filed any; Schedule B asks for details from them
  • If you are splitting gifts: your spouse's name and SSN, and a Notice of Consent signed and dated by your spouse
  • If you are applying a deceased spouse's unused exclusion (DSUE) amount: the first four pages of the Form 706 filed for that spouse's estate and the related DSUE attachments

How to fill out Form 709

  1. Part I, lines 1–21: General information (page 1)

    Enter the donor's name (lines 1 and 2), SSN (line 3), address (lines 4 to 11, with separate spaces for a foreign address), legal residence (line 12) and citizenship (line 13). Lines 14 to 16 are check boxes for a donor who died during the year (with the date of death), an amended return and an extension of time to file. Line 17 is the number of donees on Schedule A, counting each person once. Lines 18a to 21 are Yes or No questions about earlier Forms 709 and an address change, gifts by spouses to third parties (Yes sends you to Part III), DSUE amounts (Yes sends you to Schedule C) and digital assets; line 21 must be answered Yes or No.

  2. Part III, lines 1–7: Spouse's consent on gifts to third parties (page 2)

    Complete this part only if you answered Yes on Part I, line 19. Line 1 asks whether you and your spouse consent to treat all gifts either of you made to third parties during the year as made one-half by each. If Yes, enter your spouse's name and SSN (lines 2 and 3), whether you were married to each other all year and any change in marital status with its date (lines 4 and 5), and whether your spouse will also file a gift tax return (line 6). Line 7 confirms you have your spouse's consent; a Notice of Consent must be attached.

  3. Schedule A, lines A and B and Parts 1–3: List the gifts (pages 3–5)

    Line A asks whether any value reflects a valuation discount; if Yes, attach an explanation. Check line B if you elect to treat a contribution to a qualified tuition (529) program as made over 5 years, and attach a statement. Then enter each gift once: in Part 1 if it is subject only to gift tax, in Part 2 if it is a direct skip subject to both gift and GST tax, or in Part 3 if it is a gift to a trust that is an indirect skip or may later be subject to GST tax. List Part 2 and Part 3 gifts in the order you made them.

  4. Schedule A columns (a)–(n): Describe and value each gift

    For each gift, give an item number, the donee's name and address, the relationship, a description detailed enough to identify the property, your adjusted basis, the date of the gift and its value on that date (columns (a) to (g)). If you split gifts, enter half of column (g) in column (h); column (i) is the net transfer. In Parts 1 and 3, the check boxes mark charitable gifts (k), deductible gifts to a spouse (l) and the section 2652(a)(3) election (m), and column (j) is reserved; in Part 2, column (j) is the section 2632(b) election out, and in Part 3, column (n) is the section 2632(c) election. Gifts made by your spouse go in the lower section only if you split gifts and your spouse also made gifts.

  5. Schedules B, C and D: Prior gifts, DSUE and GST tax (pages 7–10)

    Complete Schedule B if you answered Yes on Part I, line 18a: list each earlier period, the IRS office where that return was filed, the credit and specific exemption used, and the taxable gifts; line 3 goes to Part II, line 2. Complete Schedule C if you are applying a DSUE amount or a Restored Exclusion Amount; line 5 goes to Part II, line 7. Complete the parts of Schedule D that apply if any gifts are listed in Schedule A, Part 2 or 3: Part 1 lists the direct skips from Schedule A, Part 2 (and any ETIP transfers), Part 2 (lines 1 to 8) reconciles your GST exemption, and Part 3 figures the GST tax.

  6. Schedule A, Part 4, lines 1–12: Taxable gift reconciliation (page 6)

    Line 1 adds the column (i) totals from Parts 1 to 3, line 2 is the total annual exclusions you claim, and line 3 subtracts them. Lines 4 to 8 take the marital deduction (items checked in column (l)) and the charitable deduction (items checked in column (k)). Line 10 is the GST tax from Schedule D, Part 3, and line 11 is your taxable gifts, which you carry to Part II, line 1. Line 12 is a check box for electing out of QTIP treatment of certain joint and survivor annuities, with their Schedule A item numbers.

  7. Part II, lines 1–20d, and signature (page 1)

    Enter taxable gifts for this year (line 1) and for prior periods (line 2), then figure the tax on lines 4 and 5 using the Table for Computing Gift Tax in the instructions. Lines 7 to 14 apply the applicable credit and any credit for foreign gift taxes, line 16 adds GST tax from Schedule D, and line 19 shows any tax due. If there is an overpayment on line 20a, enter direct deposit details on lines 20b to 20d. The donor then signs and dates the return; if someone was paid to prepare it, that preparer signs and completes the Paid Preparer Use Only section.

After you fill it out

If you file on paper, mail the signed return and all required attachments to the IRS; the filing address is in the instructions and on the IRS page for filing estate and gift tax returns, and amended or supplemental returns go to a different address, so check that page before you mail. If you are splitting gifts and your spouse will also file, mail both returns in the same envelope. The IRS also accepts Form 709 through its Modernized e-File (MeF) system, which is used through an authorized IRS e-file provider or a reporting agent. If tax is due, the instructions point to IRS.gov/Payments for ways to pay.

Signing: The instructions say the donor must sign the return, and anyone paid to prepare it must also sign as preparer unless they are the donor's regular full-time employee. If you split gifts, your spouse does not sign the return but must sign and date a Notice of Consent that is attached to it.

Watch out for

  • This edition is for gifts made during calendar year 2025. Report each year's gifts on the Form 709 for that year, and do not file more than one Form 709 for the same calendar year.
  • The instructions say to complete page 1 and every schedule that applies in full; returns filed without entries in each field will not be processed.
  • An extension of time to file, whether through an income tax extension (Form 4868 or Form 2350) or through Form 8892, does not extend the time to pay gift or GST tax.
  • A nonresident who is not a U.S. citizen and made gifts of real or other tangible property in the United States files Form 709-NA, not Form 709.

Questions about Form 709

Will I owe gift tax if I file Form 709?

Not necessarily. The instructions say you must file when the rules require it, whether or not any tax is due. Part II figures the tax and then subtracts the applicable credit, which is based on your applicable exclusion amount (the basic exclusion amount plus any DSUE or Restored Exclusion Amount).

When is Form 709 due?

Generally by April 15 of the year after the gift, or the next business day if April 15 falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday. An extension of time to file your income tax return also extends the gift tax return; if you are not extending your income tax return, you can use Form 8892.

Can my spouse and I file one Form 709 together?

No. Married couples may not file a joint gift tax return, so each spouse who must file sends their own Form 709. If you split gifts, both spouses generally file, but the instructions describe two exceptions where only the donor spouse files.

Do tuition or medical bills I paid for someone go on Form 709?

Not if you paid the tuition directly to a qualifying school, or paid the medical care provider directly for care that the person's insurance does not reimburse. Those payments are not gifts for this return and should not be listed on Schedule A. Books, supplies, room and board, and contributions to a 529 plan do not qualify for the educational exclusion.

How do I correct a Form 709 I already filed?

File another Form 709 and check the amended return box on Part I, line 15. Include a statement of what changed with supporting information, and attach a copy of the original return. Amended returns are mailed to a different address than original returns; it is listed on the IRS filing page.

Official information

Page text last reviewed November 7, 2026.

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