Gift tax return (Form 709)

The return a US giver files when gifts to one person in a year are above the annual exclusion. Filing it usually means no tax: the amount above the exclusion is subtracted from the lifetime basic exclusion amount, and gift tax is due only once lifetime taxable gifts pass it. Both amounts change over time and the IRS publishes them each year; a gift to a parent counts, because a parent is not a spouse.