Individual U.S. citizens and residents (based on domicile).

Use Form 708 to report covered gifts and covered bequests received during the applicable calendar year for which Form 708 is being filed and to figure the tax due, if any, on those covered gifts and covered bequests. Covered gifts and covered bequests are gifts and bequests received from a covered expatriate and include distributions from certain foreign trusts that received covered gifts or covered bequests from a covered expatriate. See Covered gift, Covered bequest, and Covered expatriate, later, for more details.

Domestic trusts.

Use Form 708 to report covered gifts and covered bequests received during the applicable calendar year and to figure the tax due, if any, on those covered gifts and covered bequests. If you were a foreign trust that became a domestic trust during the applicable calendar year (a migrated foreign trust, see Migrated foreign trust, later), use Form 708 to report covered gifts and covered bequests, received during the applicable calendar year and any previous year, and to figure the tax due, if any, on the trust. See instructions for Part IV, Section 3, later and Regulations section 28.2801-4.

Foreign trusts.

Use Form 708 to make an election to be treated as a domestic trust for section 2801 purposes (an electing foreign trust, see Electing foreign trust, later). If in the applicable calendar year you are making an election to be treated as an electing foreign trust, use Form 708 also to report covered gifts and covered bequests, if any, received during the applicable calendar year and any previous year, and to figure the tax due, if any, on the trust. If you are an electing foreign trust (having an election already in place to be treated as a domestic trust for section 2801 purposes), use Form 708 to report covered gifts and covered bequests received during the applicable calendar year and to figure the tax due, if any, on those covered gifts and covered bequests.

Note:

If you are a U.S. person as defined for federal income tax purposes, you may be required to report the receipt of a gift or bequest from a foreign person, or a distribution from a foreign trust, on Form 3520, Annual Return To Report Transactions With Foreign Trusts and Receipt of Certain Foreign Gifts. See sections 6039F, 6048(c), 7701(a)(30), and Form 3520 and its instructions, for more information.

Receipts not exceeding the section 2801(c) amount.

If you are a U.S. citizen or resident of the United States, a domestic trust, or an electing foreign trust, you do not need to file Form 708 for the applicable calendar year if the total fair market value of all covered gifts and covered bequests received during the applicable calendar year is less than or equal to the annual exclusion for gifts. See section 2801(c). For calendar years 2025 and 2026, the amount is $19,000. The $19,000 amount is subject to an annual inflation adjustment for calendar years after 2026. The value of all covered gifts and covered bequests includes the total amount of distributions from foreign trusts that are attributable to covered gifts or covered bequests. Note that this exception to the filing requirement for the applicable calendar year does not apply to you if either you are a trust becoming a migrated foreign trust during the applicable calendar year or you are a foreign trust making an election for the applicable calendar year to be treated as a domestic trust for section 2801 tax purposes.

General rule.

You must file Form 708 on or before the 15th day of the eighteenth month following the close of the calendar year in which you received the covered gift or covered bequest. But see additional rules in When to file for certain covered bequests, When to file for migrated foreign trusts, and When to file for a foreign trust electing to be treated as domestic trust in year during which no covered gift or covered bequest is received, below.

When to file for certain covered bequests.

Regardless of the general rule, the due date of Form 708 reporting a covered bequest with a date of receipt, other than the covered expatriate’s date of death, is the later of:

For example, if the covered expatriate dies in 2025 and the date of receipt of your bequest under the covered expatriate’s will occurs in calendar year 2026, the Form 708 for the 2026 calendar year is due on or before June 15, 2027. If instead you received the covered bequest in calendar year 2027, the Form 708 for the 2027 calendar year is due on or before June 15, 2028.

When to file for migrated foreign trust.

The due date of Form 708 for the calendar year in which a foreign trust migrated into a domestic trust is fifteenth date of the sixth month of the calendar year following the close of the calendar year in which the foreign trust becomes a domestic trust.

For example, if during calendar year 2025, a foreign trust becomes a domestic trust, the Form 708 for the 2025 calendar year is due on or before June 15, 2026.

When to file for a foreign trust electing to be treated as domestic trust in year during which no covered gift or covered bequest is received.

A foreign trust electing to be treated as a domestic trust for a calendar year in which the foreign trust did not receive any covered gifts or covered bequests must file Form 708 on or before the fifteenth day of the sixth month of the calendar year following the close of the first calendar year for which the election is being made.

For example, if a foreign trust receives no covered gifts or covered bequests during calendar year 2025 and elects to be treated as a domestic trust as of January 1, 2025, the Form 708 for the 2025 calendar year is due on or before June 15, 2026. If the foreign trust received one or more covered gifts or covered bequests in calendar year 2025 and is electing to be treated as a domestic trust as of January 1, 2025, the Form 708 for the 2025 calendar year is due on or before June 15, 2027.

Due date falls on Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.

If the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, Form 708 will be due on the next business day. See section 7503.

In general.

You may request an extension of time to file Form 708 by filing Form 7004, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to file Certain Business Income Tax, Information, and Other Returns. You must include on Form 7004 an estimate of the amount of section 2801 tax liability. File Form 7004 at the address provided in the Instructions for Form 7004.

Automatic extension.

You will be granted an automatic 6-month extension of time to file Form 708 if Form 7004 is filed on or before the due date for filing Form 708.

The automatic extension of time for filing a return will not extend the time for payment of any section 2801 tax due with the return.

Caution:

PDSs can’t deliver items to P.O. boxes. You must use the U.S. Postal Service to mail any item to an IRS P.O. box address.

Late filing and late payment.

Section 6651 imposes penalties for both late filing and late payment, unless there is reasonable cause for delay.

Reasonable-cause determination.

If you receive a notice about penalties after you file Form 708, send an explanation and we will determine if you meet reasonable-cause criteria. Do not attach an explanation when you file Form 708.

If you received a distribution from an electing foreign trust on or after January 1 of the year for which the trust’s domestic trust election is terminated and the election becomes an imperfect election (see Terminating the election in the event of an imperfect election, later), your failure to timely file and pay are due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect for purposes of section 6651 provided that you file Form 708 and pay the section 2801 tax within a reasonable period of time after being notified by the trustee of the foreign trust or otherwise becoming aware that a valid election was not in effect when the distribution was made. For this purpose, a reasonable period of time is not more than six months after you are notified by the trustee or six months after you otherwise become aware that a valid election is not in effect.

Return preparer.

Penalties may also be applied to Form 708 preparers. See section 6694, the related regulations, and Ann. 2009-15, 2009-11 I.R.B. 687, available at IRS.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb09-11.pdf, for more information.

U.S. citizen or resident.

A U.S. citizen or resident is an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States. For section 2801 purposes, the term “resident” follows the gift and estate tax definition of the term, which is based on domicile. A person acquires a domicile in a place by living there, even for a brief period of time, with no definite present intention of moving from there. See Regulations sections 20.0-1(b)(1), 25.2501-1(b), and 28.2801-2(b). References to a U.S. citizen also include a domestic trust or an electing foreign trust, but only for section 2801 purposes and not for purposes of determining an individual’s status as an expatriate or covered expatriate.

Domestic trust.

A domestic trust is any trust if:

See Regulations section 301.7701-7 for more information.

Foreign trust.

A trust that isn’t a domestic trust is a foreign trust.

Electing foreign trust.

For section 2801 purposes, an electing foreign trust is a foreign trust that has in place a valid election to be treated as a domestic trust solely for purposes of section 2801. See section 2801(e)(4)(B)(iii) and Regulations section 28.2801-5(d) for more information.

Non-electing foreign trust.

For section 2801 purposes, a non-electing foreign trust is any foreign trust that isn’t an electing foreign trust.

Migrated foreign trust.

For section 2801 purposes, the term “migrated foreign trust” refers to a non-electing foreign trust that receives a covered gift or covered bequest (in the applicable calendar year or any prior year) and subsequently becomes a domestic trust. For information on the special rules that apply for the year in which the trust becomes a domestic trust, see discussion of migrated foreign trusts in Liability for and Payment of Section 2801 Tax, later, and Regulations section 28.2801-4(a)(2)(iv).

U.S. recipient.

For section 2801 purposes, a U.S. recipient is a U.S. citizen or resident (which includes a domestic trust and an electing foreign trust) that receives a covered gift or covered bequest, whether directly or indirectly, during the applicable calendar year. For example, a U.S. citizen or resident receiving a distribution from a non-electing foreign trust that is attributable (in whole or in part) to one or more covered gifts or covered bequests received by such trust is a U.S. recipient. A U.S. recipient also includes a U.S. citizen or resident who is a shareholder, partner, or other interest-holder, as the case may be (if any), of a domestic business entity that receives a covered gift or covered bequest.

Covered bequest.

For section 2801 purposes, with certain exceptions, a covered bequest is any property acquired by a recipient on or after June 17, 2008, directly or indirectly by reason of the death of a covered expatriate, regardless of the property’s location and whether such property was acquired by the covered expatriate before or after expatriation from the United States, but only to the extent the property would have been included in the covered expatriate’s gross estate for Federal estate tax purposes if the covered expatriate had been a U.S. citizen immediately before death. A covered bequest also includes any other property not acquired by reason of the death of a covered expatriate that would have been included in the covered expatriate’s gross estate for Federal estate tax purposes if the covered expatriate had been a U.S. citizen immediately before death. Finally, a covered bequest includes distributions made by reason of the death of a covered expatriate from a non-electing foreign trust to the extent the distributions are attributable to covered gifts and covered bequests made to the non-electing foreign trust on or after June 17, 2008.

Covered gift.

For section 2801 purposes, with certain exceptions, a covered gift is any property acquired on or after June 17, 2008, by gift directly or indirectly from an individual who is a covered expatriate at the time the property is received by the recipient, regardless of the property’s location and whether such property was acquired by the covered expatriate before or after expatriation from the United States. A covered gift also includes distributions made, other than by reason of the death of a covered expatriate, from a non-electing foreign trust to the extent that the distributions are attributable to covered gifts and covered bequests made to the non-electing foreign trust on or after June 17, 2008. See Regulations section 28.2801-3 for additional rules and exceptions applicable to the term covered gift.

Expatriate.

An expatriate is any U.S. citizen who has relinquished their citizenship and any long-term resident who has ended their residency in the United States (expatriated) on or after June 17, 2008.

Long-term resident (LTR) defined. A U.S. resident individual is an LTR if the individual was a lawful permanent resident of the United States in at least 8 of the last 15 tax years ending with the year the individual is no longer treated as a lawful permanent resident. In determining if an individual meets the 8-year requirement, don’t count any year if in that year the individual was treated as a resident of a foreign country under a tax treaty and did not waive treaty benefits applicable to residents of that country.

Lawful permanent resident. An individual is a lawful permanent resident of the United States if the individual has been given the privilege, according to U.S. immigration laws, of residing permanently in the United States as an immigrant. An individual generally has this status if the individual has been issued an alien registration card, also known as a green card, and the green card hasn’t been revoked, or judicially or administratively determined to have been abandoned. However, an individual is also no longer treated as a lawful permanent resident if the individual commenced to be treated as a resident of a foreign country under the provisions of a tax treaty, did not waive the benefits of such treaty, and notified the IRS of the commencement of such treatment.

Expatriation and expatriation date.

Expatriation includes the acts of relinquishing U.S. citizenship and terminating long-term residency. The expatriation date is the date that a U.S. citizen relinquishes their citizenship, or the date any long-term resident ends their residency in the United States.

Date of relinquishment of U.S. citizenship. An individual is considered to have relinquished their U.S. citizenship (and consequently, have an expatriation date) on the earliest of the following dates.

Date of termination of long-term residency. An individual LTR is considered to have terminated lawful permanent residency (and consequently, have an expatriation date) on the earliest of the following dates.

Covered expatriate.

A covered expatriate is an expatriate whose expatriation date occurs after June 16, 2008, and to whom any of the following statements apply.

The determination of whether an expatriate is a covered expatriate is made as of the individual’s expatriation date, and if an expatriate meets the definition of a covered expatriate, the expatriate is a covered expatriate at all times after the expatriation date. However, an expatriate is not treated as a covered expatriate during any period beginning after the expatriation date during which such individual is subject to U.S. estate or gift tax as a U.S. citizen or resident. An individual’s status as a covered expatriate will be determined as of the date of the most recent expatriation, if there has been more than one.

Exception for dual-citizens and certain minors. Certain dual-citizens and certain minors (defined next) won’t be treated as covered expatriates for purposes of section 2801 solely because one or both statements in paragraph (1) or (2) under Covered expatriate, above, apply. However, these individuals will still be treated as covered expatriates unless they file Form 8854 and certify that they have complied with all federal tax obligations for the 5 tax years preceding the date of expatriation as required in paragraph (3) (under Covered expatriate, earlier).

Certain dual-citizens. An individual can qualify for the exception for dual-citizens described above if the individual meets both of the following requirements.

Certain minors. An individual can qualify for the exception for certain minors described above if the individual meets both of the following requirements.

Power of appointment.

For section 2801 purposes, the term “power of appointment” refers to both a general and non-general power of appointment, except as expressly limited to one or the other. A general power of appointment is as defined in sections 2041(b)(1) and 2514(c), without regard to the exception in section 2041(b)(2) or 2514(e). A non-general power of appointment is any power of appointment that is not a general power of appointment. The exercise or release of a general power of appointment held by a covered expatriate over property for the benefit of a U.S. recipient is a covered gift or covered bequest. The grant by a covered expatriate to an individual who is a U.S. citizen or resident of a general power of appointment over property not held in trust is a covered gift or covered bequest to the powerholder.

Section 2801(c) amount.

The section 2801(c) amount is the dollar amount of the gift tax exclusion in effect under section 2503(b) for the applicable calendar year. For 2025 and 2026, the section 2801(c) amount is $19,000. In calculating the section 2801 tax, the section 2801(c) amount reduces or eliminates the aggregate value of covered gifts and covered bequests received by a U.S. citizen or resident during a calendar year. See Net covered gifts and covered bequests, later, for more details.

Section 2801 ratio.

The section 2801 ratio reflects the portion of a non-electing foreign trust that is attributable to covered gifts and covered bequests that the trust has received as of a certain date, including the ratable portion of appreciation and income that has accrued on that portion of the trust’s assets from the date of contribution, as compared to the total fair market value of the trust. The section 2801 ratio can range from 0 to 1. It is computed by adding the pre-contribution value of the trust attributable to covered gifts and covered bequests with the portion, if any, of the fair market value of the current contribution that constitutes a covered gift or covered bequest. The sum is divided by the fair market value of the trust immediately after the current contribution. This ratio is determined in Part VI, Section 2 to calculate the section 2801 tax on distributions received from a foreign trust and in Part IV, Section 3 to calculate the section 2801 tax when a foreign trust elects to be treated as a domestic trust or when a foreign trust becomes a migrated foreign trust.

Special rule when living individual making a gift does not authorize disclosure of return information under section 6103.

If you receive a gift during the applicable calendar year from an individual who has or may have relinquished U.S. citizenship or terminated U.S. residency, and the individual who is still living does not authorize the IRS to disclose relevant return or return information to you, the individual is treated as a covered expatriate for section 2801 purposes unless you are able to provide other documentation to support the individual’s status as other than a covered expatriate. For more on this rebuttable presumption, see Regulations section 28.2801-7(b)(2). For information regarding tax information authorizations, see Form 8821, Tax Information Authorization, and its instructions.

Protective Form 708.

If you receive a gift or bequest from an expatriate and reasonably conclude that the gift or bequest is not a covered gift or a covered bequest from a covered expatriate, you may file a protective Form 708 to start the running of the period of limitations for assessment of tax. See Regulations section 28.2801-7(c). A protective Form 708 will start the running of the period of limitations for assessment of tax if you include all of the information otherwise required on Form 708, along with an affidavit, signed under penalties of perjury, setting forth the information on which you are relying in concluding that the individual or individuals from whom you received, directly or indirectly, any gifts or bequests during the applicable calendar year was not a covered expatriate, and that the gift or bequest was not a covered gift or a covered bequest, as well as your efforts to obtain other information that might be relevant to these determinations. In addition, if you have information from the IRS, you must attach a copy of such information to the protective Form 708. See Regulations section 28.2801-7(b)(1). You also must attach a copy of a completed Part III of Form 3520, for all trust distributions, or Part IV of Form 3520 for all gifts and bequests, if applicable, to the protective Form 708. See Regulations section 28.6011-1(b).

Net covered gifts and covered bequests.

The net covered gifts and covered bequests you receive during the applicable calendar year is the total value of all covered gifts and covered bequests you receive during the applicable calendar year, less the section 2801(c) amount, which is the dollar amount of the annual exclusion for gifts in effect under section 2503(b) for that calendar year. The amount of the section 2503(b) exclusion and therefore the section 2801(c) amount are subject to an annual inflation adjustment, and the adjusted amounts will be published in an annual revenue procedure.

Foreign gift and estate taxes.

You reduce the section 2801 tax computed above by the amount of any gift or estate tax paid to a foreign country with respect to the covered gift or covered bequest. To claim the reduction of section 2801 tax, you must complete Part V of the Form 708 and must attach to the Form 708 a copy of the foreign gift or estate tax return and a copy of the receipt or canceled check for payment of the foreign gift or estate tax.

If any gift or estate tax with respect to a covered gift or covered bequest is owed but not yet paid to a foreign country, you may file a protective claim for refund at any time before the expiration of the period of limitation prescribed in section 6511(a) for filing a claim for refund to preserve your right to claim a refund once the gift or estate tax is paid to the foreign country. You file the protective claim in accordance with the usual procedures for filing a claim for refund. See Form 843, Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement, and its instructions.

Value of covered gift or covered bequest.

The value of a covered gift or covered bequest, including a distribution from a non-electing foreign trust attributable to covered gifts or covered bequests, is the fair market value of the property as of the date you receive it. See Date of receipt, below. The fair market value of a covered gift or covered bequest is the price, as of the date of receipt, at which such property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, when neither is forced to buy or sell, and when both have reasonable knowledge of relevant facts.

You determine the fair market value of a covered gift in accordance with the federal gift tax valuation principles of section 2512 and chapter 14 and the corresponding regulations. You determine the fair market value of a covered bequest by applying the Federal estate tax valuation principles of section 2031 and chapter 14, to the extent applicable, and the corresponding regulations, but without regard to sections 2032 and 2032A.

Date of receipt.

The section 2801 tax is imposed upon your receipt of a covered gift or covered bequest.

In general, the date you receive a covered gift is the same as the date of the gift for purposes of chapter 12, determined as if the covered expatriate had been a U.S. citizen at the time of the transfer. However, for an asset or property interest subject to a claim of right of another involving a bona fide dispute, the date you receive the covered gift is the date on which such claim is terminated.

In general, the date you receive a covered bequest is the date of distribution from the estate or the decedent’s revocable trust rather than the date of death of the covered expatriate. However, the date you receive property passing on the death of the covered expatriate by operation of law, or by beneficiary designation or other contractual agreement, is the date of death of the covered expatriate. Notwithstanding both of these general rules, for an asset or property interest subject to a claim of right of another involving a bona fide dispute, the date you receive such covered bequest is the date on which such claim is terminated.

Caution:

Entering zero for any of lines 1–3 is a statement by you that you did not receive any transfers subject to tax under section 2801(a) covered by that line.

Column (a).

List items reported on Part IV, Sections 1–3 for which foreign gift or estate taxes were paid, in numerical order, using the item numbers from Part IV, Sections 1–3 (for example, A1, A2, B1, B2, C1).

Column (c).

Enter the date that gift or estate taxes were paid to a foreign county for the item listed on column (a). If foreign gift or estate taxes were paid for a single item on separate dates, list each payment separately. You must attach a copy of the receipt or cancelled check for each payment listed on this part.

Column (e).

Enter the amount paid (in U.S. dollars) on the date(s) shown in column (c).

Column (f).

Enter the aggregate amount claimed or allowed as a refund against the foreign gift or estate taxes paid with respect to each item.