Gifting Bitcoin In 2025: What The Irs Says And How To Avoid Tax...
Gifting Bitcoin isn’t taxable right away, but the IRS still has rules. Here’s how to stay compliant and prevent future tax problems.
Bitcoin gifts aren’t immediately taxable. The IRS treats cryptocurrency as property, so recipients generally don’t owe income tax on the gift.
Stay within the 2025 exclusion limit. You can gift up to $19,000 per person, or $38,000 for spouses splitting gifts, without triggering Form 709.
Recipients inherit the donor’s cost basis. Future taxes depend on the donor’s original purchase price, not the cryptocurrency’s value at the time of the gift.
Keep detailed records to avoid IRS issues. Document the fair market value, transaction date and wallet details to make your gift audit-proof.
Bitcoin has become a popular gift for birthdays, holidays or simply to share enthusiasm for cryptocurrency. Under US tax law, gifting Bitcoin (BTC) is not an immediate taxable event. The recipient owes no income tax, and the donor typically owes no gift tax if the gift’s value is within the annual exclusion limit.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) treats digital assets as property, not currency. This means Bitcoin gifts fall under the same framework as stocks or real estate. They follow property rules, require valuation at the time of transfer, and may need to be reported on Form 709 if the annual exclusion limit is exceeded.
In short, you can gift Bitcoin without creating an immediate tax obligation. However, poor documentation or misunderstanding basic rules can still cause problems later.
A cryptocurrency gift must be a true transfer of ownership. You give up control and receive nothing in return. The 2025 annual exclusion allows up to $19,000 per recipient, or $38,000 for spouses using gift splitting, without filing Form 709. Exceeding that threshold does not automatically create a tax liability, but the form must still be filed.
Gifts between US citizen spouses are unlimited. For non-citizen spouses, the 2025 limit is about $190,000. Transfers to non-residents or certain trusts may have additional requirements.
Source: CoinTelegraph
