Smart Gifting Strategies for Your Children
Making the Most of Your Wealth Transfer with Wisdom and Purpose
At Axiom Wealth Strategies, we believe true wealth isn’t just measured in dollars, but in the values, vision, and wisdom we pass down through generations. Gifting to your children can be one of the most strategic and meaningful ways to do just that. Done wisely, it preserves your estate, strengthens your family, and invites your children into a deeper story of stewardship.
Here’s how you can align generosity with truth, courage, and curiosity—our core values—to ensure your gifts are a legacy, not just a transfer.
1. Know the Rules, Then Be Strategic (Truth)
Understanding the IRS annual gifting limits is foundational to wise planning. Clear, truthful planning lays the groundwork for long-term impact. We aim to help clients steward every opportunity in accordance with timeless principles, not short-term loopholes.
- In 2025, you can gift up to $19,000 per recipient without triggering gift tax or using your lifetime exemption.
- Married couples can combine gifts for $38,000 per recipient.
- If your child is married, you can gift up to $76,000 to the couple.
- No gift tax return is needed if you stay within these limits.
2. Think Beyond Cash: Consider Appreciated Assets (Curiosity)
At Axiom, we encourage clients to think creatively about how to pass on value. Curiosity challenges us to ask: What else is possible with what we’ve been given?
- Consider gifting appreciated stock, real estate, or interests in a family business.
- These gifts transfer cost basis to your child, who may pay capital gains taxes down the road, but often at a lower rate.
- This can unlock tax-efficient giving, especially when coordinated with broader investment or charitable strategies.
3. Use 529 Plans to Educate - and Elevate (Truth Plus Courage)
Education is more than tuition; it’s about preparing the next generation for life. Our suggested strategy reflects our commitment to truth (knowing what is allowed) and courage (making bold moves to bless future generations.)
- A 529 college savings plan has no income limits on contributions and may be transferred to other members of the same family.
- These plans allow you to front-load up to $95,000 per child (or $190,000 as a couple) in a single year without gift tax implications (provided no more contributions are made in the next 5 years).
Funds grow tax-deferred and are withdrawn tax-free when used for qualified education expenses, either K-12 or college costs.
You stay in control of the account, but the assets are removed from your estate.
4. Transfer Values Through Business Ownership (Courage Plus Legacy)
If you own a family business, gifting ownership interests can be one of the most profound ways to extend both wealth and legacy. It takes courage to let go of control, and wisdom to know when. Done right, this can initiate your children into the family mission and multiply the fruit of your labor.
Gifts of minority interests may qualify for valuation discounts, allowing for larger transfers at lower tax cost.
This move should be made with care, coordinated with a valuation expert, estate attorney, and your financial team.
Final Thoughts: Gifting That Glorifies
At Axiom, we don’t just ask what you want to give, but why. Gifts should bless, not burden. They should create clarity, not confusion. And they should reflect the truth of your values, not just the size of your estate. Generosity is a sacred responsibility. When guided by Curiosity, Courage, and Truth, your gifting becomes more than a tax strategy, it becomes a Legacy.
If you're ready to build a smart, values-driven gifting plan for your family, we’re here to help. Let's build something enduring - together.
Find out how we can help:
Schedule a 15 minute phone call with Grant Finter (located in Bend, Oregon)
Schedule a 15 minute phone call with George Luke (located in Moscow, Idaho)