Tax laws in the United States allow an individual to give Ten-Thousand Dollars annually tax-free. Married couples are allowed tax-free gifts up to Twenty-Thousand Dollars. Gifts in excess of these respective amounts are either taxed, or deducted from the donor's lifetime / deathtime exemption. Everyone has a limited tax-free gift exemption that they may use anytime during their life or in the form of inheritance after their death. Many times people choose to use these tax-free gifts to help their children buy real estate. If a couple wants to buy a Four Hundred Thousand house for their daughter and husband, they may give Forty Thousand Dollars tax free to them every year. To purchases the house for her without paying taxes as a gift, the couple may make mortgage payments of Forty Thousand Dollars a year until the house is paid off without deducting from their lifetime exemption amount. For more information about how tax-free gifts work, contact a real estate lawyer in your area.