Form 709-NA is the gift tax return a nonresident non-citizen files after transferring U.S.-situs property that exceeds the annual exclusion. You report each gift on Schedule A, compute the tax using the progressive rate schedule that starts at 18 percent, and mail the signed return to the IRS in Kansas City by April 15 of the year after the gift. Unlike U.S. citizens and residents, you get no unified credit, so tax is owed on the first dollar of taxable gifts above the exclusion.
Who Has to File
The form applies to anyone the IRS classifies as a nonresident not a citizen (NRNC) at the time of the gift. For gift and estate tax purposes, residence turns on domicile — the place you live with no definite present intent of leaving — not on how many days you spend in the country.1Internal Revenue Service. IRM 4.25.4 International Estate and Gift Tax Examinations Someone who counts as a resident alien for income tax under the substantial-presence test can still be a nonresident for gift tax if they never intended to make the U.S. their permanent home.
You file when your gifts of U.S.-situs property to any one recipient during the calendar year exceed the annual exclusion, or when you give a future interest (property the recipient cannot immediately use or enjoy). File even if no tax will be due after exclusions or deductions; crossing the threshold is what triggers the return.2Internal Revenue Service. About Form 709-NA
Which Gifts Are Taxable
Only property with a physical presence or legal connection to the United States counts. That means U.S. real estate (houses, land, commercial buildings) and tangible personal property physically located in the country at the time of the gift (artwork in a domestic gallery, gold bars in a U.S. vault, a vehicle titled here).
Intangible property is exempt. Under 26 U.S.C. §2501(a)(2), gift tax does not apply to transfers of intangible property by a nonresident non-citizen.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 2501 Imposition of Tax Stocks in a U.S. corporation, bonds, and debt obligations all fall on the intangible side. An NRNC who gives shares of a U.S. company to a family member owes no gift tax on the transfer.
One important carve-out: §2511(b) overrides the intangible exemption for former U.S. citizens or long-term residents who gave up their status to avoid tax. For those individuals, U.S. corporate stock and debt obligations are treated as U.S.-situs property and become taxable.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 2511 Transfers in General
Cash and U.S. Bank Deposits
Physical currency handed over inside the United States is tangible property and falls within the gift tax. Cash in a U.S. bank account is less clear; the IRS has not issued definitive guidance on whether a bank deposit is tangible or intangible for situs purposes. Advisors typically treat U.S.-held cash as potentially taxable and structure transfers accordingly.
Exclusions and Deductions That Reduce the Gift
The annual exclusion for 2026 is $19,000 per recipient.5Internal Revenue Service. What’s New – Estate and Gift Tax Present-interest gifts to any single person at or below that amount are not taxable and generally trigger no filing requirement. The exclusion runs per recipient, so you can give $19,000 to any number of people.
Gifts to a non-citizen spouse follow a different rule. Instead of the unlimited marital deduction available between two citizen spouses, present-interest gifts to a non-citizen spouse have an annual exclusion of $194,000 for 2026.6Internal Revenue Service. Frequently Asked Questions on Gift Taxes for Nonresidents Not Citizens of the United States Amounts above that are taxable.
Gifts to qualified U.S. charities are deductible against the taxable amount. Tuition or medical bills paid directly to the institution or provider are excluded from gift tax without any dollar limit, but the payment must go straight to the school or provider, not to the person benefiting.
How the Tax Is Calculated
Gift tax rates are progressive, starting at 18 percent on the first $10,000 of taxable gifts and climbing to 40 percent on amounts over $1,000,000. That is the same rate table U.S. citizens use. What is different is the credit. U.S. citizens and residents apply the unified credit under 26 U.S.C. §2505, which shelters $15,000,000 of lifetime transfers in 2026. Nonresident non-citizens get no unified credit against gift tax, so tax runs from the first taxable dollar.
A practical example: an NRNC gives U.S. real estate worth $119,000 to a child in 2026. The first $19,000 falls within the annual exclusion. The remaining $100,000 is taxable, and the tax on that $100,000, computed on the progressive rate table, is $23,800. Nothing absorbs it.
Filling Out the Form
Form 709-NA is shorter than the standard Form 709 but still requires care. It has two main parts plus schedules.7Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Form 709-NA
Part 1 — General Information
Enter your name, address, country of domicile, citizenship, and taxpayer identification number. Use your SSN if you have one; otherwise use your ITIN. If you have neither, apply for an ITIN before filing. Provide the donee’s SSN where applicable. Yes-or-no questions cover whether you filed gift tax returns in prior years, whether you are claiming a tax treaty benefit, and whether any gifts are subject to the generation-skipping transfer tax.
Schedule A — Computation of Taxable Gifts
Schedule A is the core of the return, split into four parts:
- Part 1 lists each gift subject only to gift tax, with the donee’s name and address, a description of the property, the date of the gift, and its fair market value on that date.
- Part 2 lists direct skips, meaning gifts that skip a generation (for example, to a grandchild) and are subject to both gift tax and GST tax.
- Part 3 covers indirect skips and transfers in trust that may later trigger GST tax.
- Part 4 reconciles the totals: add up the gifts, then subtract annual exclusions, charitable deductions, and any non-citizen spouse exclusion to arrive at total taxable gifts for the year.
For real estate and high-value tangible property such as fine art, attach a qualified appraisal. The appraisal must be prepared under the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, describe the property in enough detail for an outsider to identify it, state fair market value on the date of the gift, and note the property’s condition.8eCFR. 26 CFR 1.170A-17 – Qualified Appraisal and Qualified Appraiser
Schedule B — Gifts From Prior Periods
If you answered yes to the question about earlier gift tax returns, complete Schedule B. List the calendar year, the IRS office where each return was filed, and the amount of taxable gifts for each prior period. The IRS uses this to calculate cumulative taxable gifts and apply the correct marginal rate.
Part 2 — Tax Computation
Part 2 walks through the math. Compute the tentative tax on cumulative lifetime taxable gifts (current year plus prior periods), subtract the tentative tax on prior-period gifts, and the difference is your current-year gift tax. If any gifts are direct skips subject to GST tax, complete Schedule D as well. Total tax owed appears at the bottom of Part 2.
Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax
The form also reports GST tax on inter vivos direct skips, which are present-interest gifts to a “skip person” at least two generations below the donor, typically a grandchild or great-grandchild.9Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 709-NA
Every donor has a lifetime GST exemption that can be allocated to direct skips to reduce or eliminate the GST tax. A portion of unused exemption is automatically allocated to direct skips unless you elect otherwise on the return. To opt out, attach a statement to Form 709-NA describing the transfer and stating that automatic allocation should not apply.9Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 709-NA If direct skips apply, fill out Schedule D.
Where and When to File
Mail the completed return to:
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service Center
Kansas City, MO 6499910Internal Revenue Service. href=”https://www.irs.gov/filing/where-to-file-forms-beginning-with-the-number-7″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Where to File – Forms Beginning With the Number 7
The return is due April 15 of the year after the calendar year the gift was made.11Internal Revenue Service. Filing Estate and Gift Tax Returns A 2026 gift must be reported on a return postmarked by April 15, 2027. If you owe tax, include a check or money order payable to “United States Treasury” with the return. The IRS does not send an acknowledgment, so keep a copy of the signed return and your proof of mailing.
Amended returns go to a different address in Florence, Kentucky rather than Kansas City; check the current IRS mailing list before sending one.12Internal Revenue Service. Where to File – Forms Beginning With the Number 7
Extensions
File Form 8892 before April 15 to get an automatic six-month extension of time to file. It is not an extension of time to pay: estimate the tax due and send the payment with Form 8892 to avoid interest. Do not file Form 8892 before January 1 of the year the return is due, because the IRS cannot process it earlier.13Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8892 If you already have an extension for your individual income tax return on Form 4868, that extension also covers Form 709-NA, and no separate Form 8892 is needed.14eCFR. 26 CFR 25.6081-1 – Automatic Extension of Time for Filing Gift Tax Returns
Penalties for Filing or Paying Late
Filing late when tax is owed triggers a failure-to-file penalty of 5 percent of the unpaid tax per month or partial month the return is overdue, capped at 25 percent.15Internal Revenue Service. Failure to File Penalty A separate failure-to-pay penalty runs at a lower rate, and interest accrues on any unpaid balance from the due date.
The IRS can waive penalties for reasonable cause: showing you exercised ordinary care but still could not file or pay. Natural disasters, serious illness, and unavoidable inability to obtain records can qualify. Reliance on a tax professional or lack of awareness of the requirement usually does not.16Internal Revenue Service. Penalty Relief for Reasonable Cause If no tax is owed, the failure-to-file penalty is zero regardless of how late the return arrives, but the IRS can still assess penalties for incomplete or inaccurate information.
Treaty Relief for Certain Countries
The United States has gift tax treaties with a small group of countries: Australia, Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom.17Internal Revenue Service. Estate and Gift Tax Treaties (International) If you are domiciled in one of these countries, the treaty may change which property is taxable, provide a credit for taxes paid in the other country, or adjust the applicable exemptions. Claim the benefit in Part 1 and attach any required treaty-based disclosure. Provisions vary by country, so review the specific treaty that applies to your situation before finalizing the return.