Yes, your mother can give you her house through a legal deed transfer (a "gift deed"), but it involves significant tax (like capital gains, gift tax), estate planning, and Medicaid (long-term care) implications, so it's crucial to consult estate lawyers to structure it correctly (e.g., keeping a life estate or using a trust) to avoid future issues like losing control, triggering large taxes, or affecting her eligibility for government benefits.
Gifting your house to your son is legally possible but triggers stamp duty and possibly CGT, requires proper conveyancing and mortgage consent, and can have significant effects on government benefits, family law and future asset protection.
The go-to method for passing your home to your children is to leave it to them in your will. By allowing them to inherit the property, your children will pay fewer capital gain taxes if they choose to sell the house. Capital gains taxes are imposed on the profit resulting from the sale of the home.
When a parent buys a house for a child, the transaction may be considered a gift subject to federal gift tax rules. The parent should consult IRS guidelines on annual and lifetime gift tax exclusions. Ownership can be transferred directly to the child, who then assumes responsibility for property taxes and expenses.
Consult a tax professional
If you're giving a house as a gift to avoid inheritance tax in the future, be aware that the recipient may still be required to pay this tax if you pass away within seven years. As the previous property owner, you may still be liable to pay capital gains tax when gifting a house.
Trusts and charitable donations can offer tax-efficient ways to pass on wealth and, in some cases, reduce the IHT rate. Gifting property, shares, or investments can be effective but may trigger Capital Gains Tax and require expert planning.
Transferring property via inheritance using a life assurance policy. A Section 72 life insurance plan is a policy to cover the inheritance tax bills of the beneficiaries of your estate. Therefore, it allows those beneficiaries to inherit assets without then having to find the money to pay a significant tax liability.
The annual gift tax exclusion of $19,000 for 2026 is the amount of money that you can give as a gift to one person, in any given year, without having to pay any gift tax. This limit rose from $18,000 in 2024 to $19,000 in 2025, where it will remain in 2026.
Gift the House
When you give anyone other than your spouse property valued at more than $19,000 ($38,000 per couple) in any one year, you have to file a gift tax form. But as an individual, you can gift a total of $15 million (in 2026) over your lifetime without incurring a gift tax.
If the sale price is less than the market value of the property, the 'market value substitution rule' will apply, meaning the tax office will deem you to have received the market value of the asset at the time of the transfer.
The most straightforward way to get young family members on the property ladder is to simply give them the cash — either for the down payment, the entire purchase price or something in between. The annual gift tax exclusion is $19,000 per donee in 2025, or $38,000 per donee if you and your spouse split the gift.
Adding a child to your property title means you are transferring part ownership of your home to them. You may choose to make them a joint tenant (with equal rights to the whole property) or a tenant in common (owning a specific share). Once the title is transferred, your child becomes a legal owner of the property.
If you're considering giving cash, you might want to think about gifting appreciated stock instead. This approach could significantly reduce—or even eliminate—the federal tax on the asset's growth. This strategy revolves around leveraging the different long-term capital gains tax rates.
There are three main ways to transfer family real estate to heirs after you die:
A Gift Deed is a legal document drafted with the assistance of a lawyer to formally transfer ownership of property such as real estate, cash or another asset. The gift is made without expectation of payment or reimbursement now or in the future.
What do I need to know about tax when I make a gift? In reality, you can gift as much as you like to your children or grandchildren, but they might have to pay an unexpected tax charge if you don't think about this when making your plans. Inheritance tax (IHT) is the main tax to consider if you're giving away cash.
You can give any amount of cash to a family member without worrying about a gift tax. However, if you're gifting to a minor child, any income earned from that gift may be attributed back to you for tax purposes.
Contribute to a 529 plan.
Contributions to 529 plans are treated as gifts for tax purposes, allowing you to contribute up to the annual gift tax exclusion amount each year. Additionally, you can make a lump sum contribution and spread it over five years for gift tax purposes.
Leaving Money as an Inheritance
Opting to leave an inheritance provides complete control over your assets until the end of your life. This allows you to dictate the terms of their distribution through tools like wills and trusts. This ensures that your financial needs remain covered and simplifies estate management.
Taking both 7 year periods together means that you need to know how much of the NRB has been used on chargeable transfers ('chargeable' gifts) for up to 14 years before death. This is what's known as the 14 year shadow (or sometimes the 14 year rule).
There is no specific dollar limit for tax-free gifts in Australia. Personal gifts such as money given between family and friends are generally tax-free, but gifts involving assets may have tax consequences like CGT. Also, gifting large sums might affect government benefits or require reporting.
Can I give my son or daughter £20,000? While you can give your son or daughter a cash gift of £20,000 (or more), there may be tax implications. That's because any money you give that exceeds your £3,000 tax-free gift allowance will be added to the value of your estate and may be subject to inheritance tax when you die.
If you make regular payments
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.