My wife and I plan on giving* our daughter $15,000 or $20,000.
Is it mandatory that any IRS forms be filed out?
Years ago, I told her to elope rather than waste money on a fancy expensive wedding. She did!
It's been over three years now and I want to fulfill my promise. She has already bought a home so the money will go into savings and retirement accounts. She won't waste it, she's already saving on her on.
I expect to give the money just in her name, not her husbands, not because of any ill will, just as possible hedge against the 50% that fail.
It depends. Gifts up to $14,000 per year (currently) per donor per donee are exempt and you don't have to do anything.
But if you want to give more than that, the issue will be whose money is it? If part of the money comes from your income and part from your wife's, so that each part is under $14,000, there is no problem. If you live in a community property state so that half is deemed owned and given by you and half by your wife, no problem.
But if you live in a non-community property state where all the money is considered your property, you have to file a gift tax return.
As long as the total gift is under $28,000 you will incur no gift tax. [I say "incur" because you will probably not have to actually pay any gift tax. In this context "incur" means that the gift will be deducted from your lifetime exemption amount - currently a bit over $5 million - and you will only be required to pay any actual tax if your total gifts during your life exceed that amount.]
But when more than $14,000 legally comes from either one of you, you have to notify the IRS that you are relying on what the law calls "gift splitting," where two spouses can agree that each is considered the donor of half a gift even if the law says the money making the gift really only belongs to one of them.
Since she is married, you and your wife could give the couple a total of up to $56,000 and incur no gift tax. But as long as you are giving half of that amount or less, there is no tax reason to include the husband in the gift.
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