A present

[cup of tea]

My parents gave me 20,000. What do I do with it? We have an emergency savings fund, money in our daughters' college account, money in our retirement funds, , and no debt except our mortgage.

[disneysteve]

It is my understanding that you can only give $13,000 per year to someone tax free. That means $7,000 of that gift is taxable.

IF any of this "present" is taxable, be sure to set aside money to pay the tax.

Gifts are never taxable to the recipient so no need to set aside anything.

Married parents can give their married children up to $52,000/year. Mom gives daughter 13K and SIL 13K. Dad gives daughter 13K and SIL 13K. So there shouldn't be any tax issue here with a 20K gift.

Even if the gift exceeds the limit, it is the giver who has to report it and it gets deducted from their lifetime estate exemption.

[cup of tea]

Thank you for the information. It was helpful. My husband and I discussed it. We will put some money in both of our retirement accounts, put some of it into our mutual funds and put a portion in our savings for future home expenses.