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A gift deed is a legal document used to pass movable and immovable property from one owner to another free of charge. Use the template below to fill out a gift deed online, then download, print and sign it.
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With a gift deed, an asset owner gives it away to an appointed person or organization free of charge as a gift. Real estate, vehicles, personal objects, financial assets, and cash can be transferred to a new owner under a gift deed.
The document is often used to transfer property and valuables within a family or between friends. Charity organizations receive donations under gift deeds too.
A gift deed helps give property away during the owner’s life, contrary to a last will, which states the intentions to distribute possessions after the owner’s death.
Different legal documents and procedures are available to a person who wants to give some of his possessions away. If he/she decides to use a gift deed form to do it, he/she fills the paper where the asset is clearly stated and recorded in the Registration Office.
Most gift deeds follow the same pattern. They name the person who gives the gift, the person who receives it and the property that changes hands. The forms of legal deeds vary from state to state, but the correct form for each one can be easily found online.
The typical fields of a gift deed are:
A consideration, even a symbolic one, is not included in a gift deed. The document has to be registered to be legitimized.
The steps below follow the FormsPal Gift Deed template on this page, in the same order as the form. You can fill it in online, or download the PDF and complete it with the PDF editor. Enter the details of your own gift and check every name and address twice.
The screenshots under each step show the FormsPal Gift Deed template filled with sample entries in blue, so you can see where each answer goes. The names, addresses, dates and amounts are examples only.
This Deed was prepared by
Enter the mailing address of the person who prepared the deed, plus an Attn name, in the box at the top of page 1.
When recorded, return to
Enter the address where the recorded deed is sent back, plus an Attn name.
Tax Parcel Number/Assessor Parcel Number
Write the parcel number of the property on the line below the return address. Copy it exactly as it appears in your property records.
Gift Deed: donor, donee and property
Type the full names and addresses of the donor (the person giving the gift) and the donee (the person receiving it). Then enter the street address, county and state of the property.
Irrevocable or revocable
Read the paragraph on page 2, then tick the box that matches your plan. The FAQ below explains the difference between the two.
Date and Donor signature
Enter the day, month and year. Then fill in the By, Name and Title lines under the Donor line and sign by hand after printing.
Acknowledgment before the notary
Fill in the state, county, date and name in the acknowledgment on page 3. The notary public signs on the line below.
My commission expires
The notary enters the date the notary commission expires under the Notary Public signature.
Exhibit A
Repeat the tax parcel number on the Exhibit A page, the last page of the deed.
Once every blank is filled in, print the template and sign it by hand. The last pages hold the signature and notary blocks, so give them a little extra time. The steps below cover what to do with the finished deed.
Review the finished deed
Read it once more and compare every name, address and parcel number with your documents.
Sign and notarize
Sign on the Donor line, then take the signed deed to the notary public so the acknowledgment can be completed.
Share and store
Hand the signed deed to the donee and keep your own copy in a safe place.
A gift deed is a big step, so it helps to know the trade-offs before you sign. The risk for a person who gives their property away is that they lose all their rights to the property and can’t legally use it anymore.
Suppose an aunt wants to give her house away to her niece, but she wants to keep living there. If she transfers the property away with a gift deed, the niece becomes the only owner of the house, and she can sell it or rent it out to another person. The nice might choose to let her aunt use the house, but she is not legally obliged to do it.
A difficulty in terms of taxation is another risk when giving some property away with a gift deed. There is a limit on the total cost of gifts an owner can give away per year. The cost of a house will be well above the limit.
It doesn’t mean the owner will have to pay the tax since there is a generous lifetime gift limit, which can be exceeded only by the super-wealthy. Nevertheless, a person who exceeds the yearly limit must report to the state to deduct the exceeding amount from the lifetime limit. Failing to do it properly might lead to penalties.
The person who receives the gift will not have to pay an income tax as long as the gift’s cost is within the lifetime limit. But he or she will have to pay taxes on the income the property gives.
No limits apply to gifts transferred between spouses or donations to charities.
Suppose the niece receives the house under a gift deed from her aunt and wants to sell it immediately. She will have to pay an income tax when the house is sold. A tax computation method is not the same as if she receives it after her aunt’s death under her last will. In some cases, the amount of tax the niece will have to pay will be higher.
Some states apply additional taxes on free-of-charge property transfers.
Ask yourself these questions before you sign:
Houses, cars, pieces of art, shares, and money can be given away with a gift deed. The value of a gift is restricted by taxes, but the limits are pretty generous.
A gift deed can be revocable or irrevocable. A donor cannot cancel the irrevocable one. Usually, a revocable deed states a promise to transfer property as a gift in the future and can be annulated by the owner of the asset before the due date or event.
For example, an aunt can arrange to give a house to her niece as a gift when she gets married. If the aunt does it with a revocable deed, she can change her mind before the wedding day.
If you are giving away a significant amount of cash as a gift, it is better for a donee to receive the money under a gift deed. Has the document been issued, the donee can prove the sum is given without any limitations or expectations of compensation.
Have these details ready before you start:
General information, not legal or tax advice.
Last Updated: October 2026. This guide is reviewed and updated regularly to reflect current law. If you notice an error or outdated information, please contact us.