<prompt> Human: I know that a lot of questions here are dedicated to proper budgeting, paying down credit cards, etc., but this is a question about the opposite side of the financial spectrum.I am fortunate enough to come from a successful family, and am very close with my parents. We live in the Bay Area, a place notorious for exorbitant real estate prices. This is a challenge, because my mother wants me to raise my future family in our home town of Palo Alto, as I will be settling down soon.The thing is, a small cottage 1,500 sq. ft. here in our home town costs 1.8M, and even with a 6-figure tech salary, Im unable to afford the mortgage payments on a house like this. I dont need a palatial estate... In fact, I really like this cottage, and could see myself raising my kids here. Its just about the smallest house Ive seen in our town.Knowing I cant afford the home, today my mother is purchasing the house on my behalf, and will allow me to live there and raise my kids there. The thing is, she and I both want me to be the owner of the deed, and dont want to wait 30 years until it is passed down as part of the estate due to infighting among to-be inheritorsSo, with all of this in mind, how can we go about transferring the deed before my parents pass away and leave us children the estate, without forcing me to pony up 720,000 in gift taxes? The gift tax alone is just about all I can afford to finance as it would bring my debt to income ratio to 33 or so so I need your help figuring out how we can circumvent this gift tax through a creative financial structuring. Im all ears to any and all advice.Assistant: she can just gift you the cash to make the purchase. The lifetime limit is 5.35M. Youll need to report the transfer so it is known that you have utilized part of this lifetime limit, but there will be no tax impact.Human: If I am not mistaken, isnt the annual exclusion for gift taxes 17,000 per parent? I know that 5.35M can be passed down as part of the estate, but are you saying that there is a way to tell the government This gift counts against the future estate gift and will not be subject to gift taxes?  <response>: Lifetime limit is 5.43 million. That means NO taxes on any gifts before 5.3 million in gifts is reached.14kpersonyear can be given and not even be counted towards that lifetime limit.If more than 14kpersonyear is given, then the excess is reported on the gift tax form. No tax is paid until more than 5.43 million is given. Just a report, no tax. 