Should you File a Gift Tax Return?

Maybe. It depends, did you make gifts? 

In 2022, the annual gift tax exclusion amount is $16,000 per person, and in 2023 that amount is $17,000 dollars per person. The per person is for the recipient of the gift. So you can make a thousand gifts of $16,000 and not have to file a gift tax return, but if you make one gift of twenty thousand dollars, then you would have to file a gift tax return. 

Remember, married spouses can use two of those exclusions, so if you and your spouse decide to give one of your kids $32,000 this year or $34,000 next year, you don’t have to file a gift tax return. 

You likely won’t have to pay any tax. All it will do is reduce the amount that you can exempt at your death from the Federal Estate and Gift Tax, and at the rates that we have now, very, very few people have to actually pay those. Now that could change in the future, taxes change a lot, but right now the federal estate taxes are not a concern for most people.