The gift tax is generally paid by the donor, the person who gives the gift, not the recipient (donee). The donor is responsible for reporting and paying the gift tax if the value of the gift exceeds the annual exclusion amount set by tax authorities. For example, in the United States for 2025, the annual gift tax exclusion is $19,000 per recipient, and gifts exceeding this amount must be reported by the donor using IRS Form 709. The donor pays the tax on amounts exceeding the lifetime exclusion limit, which is $13.99 million in 2025

. In some cases, the donee may agree to pay the gift tax instead, but this is a special arrangement rather than the norm

. In Germany, both the donor and the donee can be liable for gift tax, but typically the donor pays unless otherwise agreed or if the donee does not pay and enforcement against the donee is impractical

. To summarize:

• Who pays gift tax? Usually the donor (giver) pays the gift tax.
• When? When the gift exceeds the annual exclusion amount.
• Can the donee pay? Only if agreed upon or under special circumstances.
• Reporting: The donor must report gifts exceeding the annual exclusion to tax authorities.

This applies to federal gift taxes in the U.S. and similar principles hold in other jurisdictions like Germany, with some variations