Taxes on a check to someone?

Hypothetically speaking, let's say I was to give my mother a cashier's check that came from my bank account. If that check was as big as say.. three million dollars, hypothetically speaking, what kind of taxes would she owe the IRS for that check?

None at all, assuming that this was a gift. Gift taxes are paid by the donor, never the recipient.

You, on the other hand, would owe a pretty substantial gift tax, on the order of $780,000 or so.

Additionally this would wipe out the unified exclusion on your estate, so your Estate Tax exclusion would drop by $1,000,000 which could significantly increase the tax that your estate would pay when you died.

Congress writes the laws, the IRS just enforces them. The IRS could honestly care less what is taxable and what is not. The purpose of gift and estate taxes is to keep wealth moving so that it does not stagnate among a privileged few, as it did in the 1800s and early 1900s. TFTP. Report Abuse

She wouldn't owe anything. You would likely owe gift taxes. The amount would depend on how much else you have given her in the past. No matter what, you would have to file Form 709 by April 15th in the year following the gift.

I hope this helps.
Gary

She wouldn't owe any taxes on it. You would though - a gift tax.