maximum gift you can give your client if you are a tax preparer

Indirect gifts are precluded by Sec. 274 and its regulation unless you can show that a bona fide business connection exists with the spouse and/or children.

Based on my interpretation, I think you can show a bona fide connection to the spouse but not to the kids.

Here's the Reg.

(e) Gifts made indirectly to an individual?(1) Gift to spouse or member of family. If a taxpayer makes a gift to the wife of a man who has a business connection with the taxpayer, the gift generally will be considered as made indirectly to the husband. However, if the wife has a bona fide business connection with the taxpayer independently of her relationship to her husband, a gift to her generally will not be considered as made indirectly to her husband unless the gift is intended for his eventual use or benefit. Thus, if a taxpayer makes a gift to a wife who is engaged with her husband in the active conduct of a partnership business, the gift to the wife will not be considered an indirect gift to her husband unless it is intended for his eventual use or benefit. The same rules apply to gifts to any other member of the family of an individual who has a business connection with the taxpayer.

The maximum gift you can give your client, or anyone else, is all you own plus all you can borrow.

You are not, of course, giving a gift to your client or you wouldn't be concerned with how much you can deduct. I disagree with Alan. In my opinion, you have one client, which happens to be a married couple, therefore you can make one $25 gift that is deductible on your business's tax return.

Well, ok, that may be technically correct. But you can't write it off as a business gift. And if it gets to be too high in value, you may even incur gift tax.

Alan quoted a regulation that specifically said that if you have a legitimate business relationship with both spouses, you can give a separate gift to each and they will not be aggregated.

And I submit that doing a joint return is a business relationship with an entity that is both spouses which is different from a business relationship with each spouse.

The regulation does not discuss gifts made to an entity, a taxpayer or a client. The regulation discussess gfts made to an "individual" directly or indirectly in which you ave established a business relationship. I continue to take the position that a $25 gift made to the husband and a $25 gift made to the wife with whom you have established a business connection would be dedutible. I see no difference between preparing a joint return or separate returns to deduct the gift as a business expense.

You may be correct, Alan. The question then comes down to whether or not preparing a joint return creates a business relationship with both individuals or just the one writing the check to the preparer. Clearly, you believe it does. I could be convinced.

Personally I doubt that the type of return they file has anything to do with it. This, as so many things, should be based on facts and circumstances rather than a technical decision made for other reasons.