A gift in India is taxable in the hands of the person who receives it. Under Section 56(2)(x) of the Income-tax Act 1961, if the money you receive without consideration crosses Rs 50,000 in total during a financial year, the entire amount is taxed as Income from Other Sources. But several gifts stay fully exempt, no matter how large.
Quick answer: A gift is taxable for the receiver only if it is not exempt. Cash or bank gifts from non-relatives are tax-free up to Rs 50,000 in a financial year; cross that and the whole sum is taxed at your slab rate. Gifts from a defined relative, on your own marriage, or by will or inheritance are fully exempt.
The single most useful thing to know is which side of the line your gift falls on. The Rs 50,000 figure is an aggregate for the whole financial year, not a per-gift limit. Once a non-relative gift pushes your total past Rs 50,000, the full amount becomes taxable, not just the slice above Rs 50,000.
| Situation | Taxable or exempt |
|---|---|
| Cash or bank transfer from a friend or colleague, total over Rs 50,000 in the year | Taxable in full as Income from Other Sources |
| Cash gifts from non-relatives totalling Rs 50,000 or less in the year | Exempt |
| Immovable property received without consideration, stamp duty value over Rs 50,000 | Taxable at the stamp duty value |
| Shares, jewellery, art or other specified movable property received free, fair market value over Rs 50,000 | Taxable at fair market value |
| Any gift from a defined relative (see list below) | Exempt, no upper limit |
| Money or property received on the occasion of your own marriage | Exempt, no upper limit |
| Anything received under a will or by inheritance | Exempt |
| Property received in contemplation of death of the giver | Exempt |
| Gift from a local authority, or specified fund, trust or institution | Exempt |
One careful point on the property rows. The “whole amount is taxable” rule applies to things received without consideration. Where you pay an inadequate price, only the gap (stamp duty value or fair market value minus what you paid) is taxed, and only when that gap itself exceeds Rs 50,000.
This is where most confusion lives, because a gift from a “relative” is exempt with no ceiling, while a gift from a friend is not. For an individual, Section 56(2)(x) treats these people as relatives:
Note what is missing: cousins, friends, fiances, and a girlfriend or boyfriend are not relatives here. A gift from them is taxable once your non-relative gifts cross Rs 50,000 for the year.
Kashvi Pathak, Pune, FY 2025-26. On her own wedding, Kashvi receives Rs 4,00,000 in cash from guests and Rs 1,50,000 from her uncle. Both are fully exempt: the wedding gifts because they were received on the occasion of her own marriage, and the uncle's gift because a brother of a parent is a relative.
Separately, a college friend transfers Rs 70,000 to her bank account as a birthday gift. Because the friend is not a relative and the amount crosses Rs 50,000, the entire Rs 70,000 is taxable in Kashvi's hands as Income from Other Sources, at her slab rate. Had the friend sent Rs 45,000, nothing would have been taxable.
Gift tax itself is a private filing matter, but RTI can help when a gift sits inside a dispute with a public body. If a stamp duty or registration office has valued your gifted immovable property and you want to know how the circle rate or stamp duty value was fixed, you can file an RTI with the state registration department. If the income-tax department has raised a query on a gift you declared, you can use RTI to seek the file notings and the basis of any addition.
You can draft such a request in minutes with the AI RTI Drafter, and the First Appeal Builder helps if the reply is incomplete. For the wider strategy, see The RTI Playbook.
No. Parents are lineal ascendants and therefore relatives under Section 56(2)(x). A gift from a parent is fully exempt with no upper limit, in cash or property.
No. Money and gifts received on the occasion of your own marriage are exempt regardless of amount and regardless of who gives them. This applies only to the person getting married, not to the parents or siblings.
Yes. A friend is not a relative, so once your non-relative gifts cross Rs 50,000 in the year the whole amount is taxable as Income from Other Sources at your slab rate. The full Rs 1 lakh is taxed, not just Rs 50,000.
No, a spouse is a relative, so the gift itself is exempt under Section 56(2)(x). Be aware, though, that income later earned from a gift to a spouse can be clubbed back to the giver under separate clubbing rules.
No. Anything received under a will or by inheritance is outside Section 56(2)(x). Tax can arise later, for example capital gains tax when you sell the inherited asset, but not on receipt.
No. India abolished the separate Gift-tax Act in 1998. Today gifts are taxed only in the hands of the receiver, and only if they are not exempt, under Section 56(2)(x).
The whole year. It is the aggregate of all non-relative gifts received in a financial year. If the total crosses Rs 50,000, the entire aggregate becomes taxable.
The relative rules are written for individuals. The position of a Hindu Undivided Family is more technical, so if a large gift involves an HUF, confirm the treatment for your facts before relying on an exemption. See how an HUF works at create an HUF and file its return.