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Gifts
Question: My parents are really excited for my wife and I to buy a house, as is my grandmother. So much so that between them they'd like to give us $30K to help with a down payment. Would this gift become "income" and therefore be subject to taxes? If so, are there any clever ways to make this money non-taxable? Thanks! David, Walla Walla WA
Answer: There's no need to be clever. In 2008 you can gift up to $12,000 to a person without paying taxes on it. Your parents and your grandmother could gift you $12,000 each for a total of $36,000 without tax consequences. They could double that sum by gifting the same amount to your wife.
About the author
Christopher Farrell is economics editor of Marketplace Money, a nationally syndicated one-hour weekly personal finance show produced by American Public Media.
One followup to Chris' answer. The questioner asked if the gift would be considered income. As Chris answered, if it falls under the $12000 gift tax exclusion it is exempt from taxes. However, if it were to be larger than the exclusion, it still would not be considered income to the recipient. In that case the giver would be the one responsible for paying any tax burden, not the recipient.
