In 2015, Ginger Graham, age 46 and wife of Greg Graham engaged in the transactions described below. Determine Ginger’s gift tax liability for 2015 if she and Greg elect gift splitting and Greg gave their son Stevie stock valued at $80,000 during 2015. Ginger’s grandmother Mamie died November 12, 2014, and Mamie’s will bequeathed $250,000 to Ginger. On March 4, 2015, Ginger irrevocably disclaimed the $250,000 in writing, and, as a result, the property passed instead to Ginger’s sister Gertie. In 2015, Ginger gave $100,000 cash to her alma mater, State University. In 1996, Ginger gave ownership of a life insurance policy on her own life to her daughter, Denise, and in 2015 Ginger paid the $22,000 annual premium on the policy. In 2014, Ginger deposited $45,000 into a bank account in the name of herself and son Stevie, joint tenants with rights of survivorship. Stevie deposited nothing. Neither party made a withdrawal until 2015, when Stevie withdrew $30,000. In 2015, Ginger created a trust with County Bank as trustee and transferred $300,000 of stock to the irrevocable trust. She named her husband Greg (age 47) to receive all the trust income semi-annually for life and daughter Drucilla to receive the remainder. In 2015, she gave a remainder interest in her beach cottage to the American Red Cross and kept the right to use the cottage rent free for the rest of her life. The fair market value of the cottage was $70,000.
Other information: Ginger’s earlier taxable gifts are $175,000, all made in 1996. Ginger will make whatever elections are necessary to minimize her current gift tax liability. Assume the Sec. 7520 interest rate is 4%.