50+ SAMPLE Gift Letters in PDF

What Is a Gift Letter?

Gift letters, whether formal or informal, are essential documents in proving if any received money from a family member, friend, or anyone is labeled as a gift. Mind the term “gift” because that means the contribution received must not be paid back by the recipient at all. And this detailed letter not only confirms what the gift is or how much it costs but also answers who the donor and the receiver are. Thanks to this written statement, it can be used as evidence when legal documentation is required to acknowledge any gift received.

Did you know that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reported that the estate and gift tax exemption is totaled $11.58 million per person in 2020?

Why Is a Gift Letter Needed?

Indeed, gift letters confirm that anything being given to you, especially a large sum of money, is, in fact, a gift. But why is it necessary? Easy. This legal letter confirms you need not pay the sender back, which would have happened for those taking a loan or mortgage. For example, it would be shady to receive a million dollars from a friend. But you might later found it that it was only loaned so the burden of paying it back is up to you. Gift letters explain all about the gift, including mortgage lenders who question the sudden plethora of cash in your savings or checking account.

Moreover, a gift letter is useful for tax reasons. This usually happens when a borrower gets extra help in a real estate or new car down payment. In 2020, IRS even confirmed that estate and gift tax exemption is totaled $11.58 million per person. And for charities or any donation, the gift letter also acknowledges if the contribution is tax-free. At least anyone who doubts your savings’ immediate influx of money won’t have to suspect you of theft or any illegal financial activity when gift letters answer their concerns.

The Basic Parts of a Gift Letter

A gift letter that does not contain crucial information only makes it useless. And if you are wondering what the essential parts or details to discuss in a gift letter are, these are the elements you have to watch out for:

Name of Donor: If donors and recipients under a gift agreement need to state their names in an agreement form, then the same can be said about mentioning the donor and the recipient’s details in a gift letter. This part of the letter clearly states who sent the gift and who received it.Donor’s Address and Contact Details: The donor’s address is helpful for tracing, in case there are questions to ask. The same goes for their contact details from the phone number, email address, mobile number, and other important contact lists.Donor and Receiver’s Relationship: Define the relationship between the donor and the receiver. Whether they are friends, relatives, business partners, or any form of relationship, labeling this part is also needed for evidence purposes.Exact Amount of Gift: Just like your typical cost sheet, you should determine the exact amount of gift given in words and numbers. This is a critical part of the letter because the receiver should expect to receive the exact amount promised in the document. But if the gift isn’t monetary, then proceed to determine its value so there is still an amount of cost to jot down.Date: Write down the complete date of when the gift was given. Similar to payment schedules in payment forms, the day, month, and year should be clarified. Others are even more detailed by also mentioning the time involved.Official Statement: The donor should come up with a sworn statement that explicitly mentions having no repayment needed for the gift. Having this statement alone is useful for legal evidence.Donor and Recipient’s Signatures: A gift affidavit that contains both the donor and the recipient’s signatures is more credible than those documents without any affixed signature. Remember that any gift letter can be made up, so at least signatures are around for proof.Address of Property Being Bought: This segment in a gift letter is only meant for gifts that involve properties like house purchases. Hence, it is optional. And the complete address marks where the exact property is if ever that concern needs investigation.

The Types of Gift Letters

Do not assume that every gift letter is of the same type. Otherwise, it could hinder your full understanding of the letter’s message. In fact, you can learn from each type regarding when you might or not need one. Without further ado, here are the basic gift letter types:

Estate Plan Gift Letter

Most monetary gifts in large amounts are under estate planning gift letters. And you would want to keep these documents safe for your own protection unless you might end up paying them back. So always check if a gift is related to a home purchase because you deserve security under your estate plan.

Equity Gift Letter

When a property is gifted to you below its market value, then you are lucky enough to count this as an equity gift letter. Equity gift letters let you see the disparity between the actual market value and the lesser paid sale price.

Mortgage Gift Letter

Loan rejections get lesser with a mortgage gift letter on hand. Remember that in house hunting, big cash gifts are the best way to go. Just make sure the monetary gift is, indeed, a gift before making a down payment for that mortgage contract.

Parents’ Money Gift Letter

Well-prepared parents most likely have gifts planned for their children once they get of age. And whatever gift they can give to secure their children’s financial future, it is helpful to note it down under a parents’ money gift letter for confirmation.

FHA Gift Letter

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) gift letters are specifically meant for FHA loans. That means FHA-accredited lenders and insurers get to issue these loans. And this gift can very well help those in the lower to the moderate-income sector of borrowers.

How to Create a Gift Letter

Believe it or not but gift letters are not that difficult to prepare. Using simple words in plain English and in one page alone can already work. But, it doesn’t mean you just take its content and data for granted. It must answer the important questions and be reliable enough for evidence. In this section, you will learn about the steps on how to make a decent gift letter.

Step 1: Select a Sample Gift Letter Template

The hassle of making a gift letter from scratch won’t bother you anymore when you use the sample gift letters enlisted in this post. You have plenty of templates to choose from and you can even customize your letter afterward. Thus, you have the leeway to change the format, design, and other contents of the gift letter. Ensure that you are confident about the output of your digital or printable document in the long run, especially when you are the donor who is about to send it to the recipient.

Step 2: Identify the Gift Itself

Don’t make a gift letter just yet without having enough background about the gift itself. As the sender or the one designated to make the gift letter, full knowledge about the gift is required. That way, you would know what to write about in the gift letter. This brings you to know if the gift is in a form of cash, a gift certificate, a loan, or anything else. And what is it for? Is it for a birthday gift, wedding gift, or any other reason at all? Also, this leads you to determine the type of gift letter you are going for.

Step 3: Complete the Parts of a Gift Letter

Besides the types of a gift letter, you also know that there are standard parts of a gift letter, which were already discussed. So do not forget to insert the donor’s name, gift amount, down to the affixed signatures to complete your gift letter. Remember that lacking any significant detail could lessen your letter’s credibility. And you should not only add the parts as it is because you need to organize them into categories or by sections. How you organize that is up to you.

Step 4: Keep It Direct and Simple

Most importantly, don’t complicate things. A simple and straightforward gift letter will already suffice. That means you stay direct to the point about the message you are trying to say in the letter and that the words are easily understandable for the recipients. That way, you prevent unnecessary and flowery words that only weaken your message. Come up with a final evaluation of the whole document before you actually produce and submit it.

FAQs

Does a gift letter need to be notarized?

You can notarize a gift letter to make it credible enough but it doesn’t exactly need to be notarized. If the donor and the recipient already affixed their signatures in the letter, then that document is valid enough.

What are the different forms of gifts?

Gifts may come in cash, check, and most tangible products. Other forms include below-market loans and forgiving debts. Another form is by transferring a title to a property or stock without any value exchange.

Does a mortgage gift letter need an IRS report?

No, recipients need not report about the mortgage gift to the IRS nor pay the gift according to its value. Equal value exchange is unnecessary when money or properties are gifted anyway.

Before you spend that monetary gift from anyone for anything due to overwhelmedness, confirm the label ahead. Lenders and recipients themselves usually frown upon borrowed money for down payments and purchases in the first place. With clarification that the money received is a gift, not a loan, you feel confident about sending a thank-you letter right away and using the gift as planned. So if you need the quickest assurance about the gifts, always depend on sample gift letters. Download now!