The IRS recently announced in Revenue Procedure 2009-50 that the gift tax annual exclusion amount available to taxpayers in 2010 will remain unchanged at $13,000. The Tax Reform Act of 1997 tied the then $10,000 gift tax annual exclusion to cost of living adjustments based on increases in the Consumer Price Index. As a result, since 1998, the annual exclusion has increased from $10,000 to $13,000. The annual exclusion permits a taxpayer to gift $13,000 annually to any beneficiary without being required to use his or her $1 million lifetime gift exemption amount.
