Personal Investments • 529 gift tax question

Hello all-

Kindly request any insights you can provide on my situation:

-In 2023, I opened a 529 with myself as account owner and my wife as account beneficiary. I contributed $4,000.
-In 2024, we had a child.
-In 2024, I transferred the account beneficiary from my wife to our child. At the time of beneficiary change, the account value was ~$4,600 (4k original contribution + $600 gains).
-I recognize that this beneficiary change is subject to gift tax rules (see: viewtopic.php?t=412356)

If my wife and I want to gift the annual gift tax exclusion limit of $36,000 (for 2024) to our child's 529 account, can we fund this account with an additional $32,000, or with $31,400? (ie does the IRS consider the gifted amount from our beneficiary change to be the amount we contributed, or the total dollar value of the account when the beneficiary was changed?)

I am aware of the gift-tax-free 5 year funding option for 529 accounts, but we don't have that much money. I'm just looking to give as much $ as possible to our child's 529 account in 2024 without triggering the need to file Form 709.

Statistics: Posted by bicycletowork — Mon Sep 02, 2024 1:22 pm — Replies 1 — Views 88

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