Is the gift tax exemption limit for children applied anew every 10 years?

The gift tax exemption limit for children is applied by aggregating gifts in cycles of 10 years.

This is because, for gifts between lineal ascendants and descendants, whether the deduction limit is exceeded is determined by adding up all amounts received from the same person within the most recent 10 years.

A point to note here is that, under tax law, 'parents' are regarded as the same person.

In other words, even if a child receives gifts from the father and the mother separately, the amounts are aggregated, and an adult child is exempt only up to 50 million won and a minor child only up to 20 million won.

However, due to a recent amendment to the tax law, in the case of marriage or childbirth, an additional 100 million won can be deducted on top of the existing limit, so tax-free gifts of up to 150 million won have become possible.

Once 10 years have passed from the date of the first gift, the previous gift amount is excluded from aggregation, and the deduction limit is restored.

Therefore, moving the timing of gifts up as much as possible and carrying out planned, distributed gifting in 10-year units is the basis of tax saving.

In particular, if the donor dies within 10 years after the gift, the relevant property is aggregated again when calculating inheritance tax, so for elderly parents, an early gift that takes their health condition into account is advantageous.

In addition, a strategy of lowering the tax base by gifting real estate expected to appreciate in value rather than cash, or by using a 'gift with an assumption of debt' that transfers liabilities together, is also effective.

Daeryun, the ninth-ranked law firm in Korea (based on 2025 value-added tax filings with the National Tax Service), collaborates with in-house certified public accountants and certified tax accountants to support comprehensive tax-saving strategies, from designing the gift structure to reviewing the tax amount and filing.

If you need legal advice regarding the gift tax exemption limit for children, you may wish to review your situation through 🔗Schedule a Legal Consultation with a Tax Attorney.