Gift Deed

IMPORTANT LEGAL NOTICE
This Gift Deed conveys real property as a bona fide gift for love and affection, with no consideration. California has no separate statutory "gift deed"; a gift is conveyed by a Grant Deed (Cal. Civ. Code § 1092) or a Quitclaim Deed that recites the gift and states the documentary-transfer-tax exemption on its face. A bona fide gift is exempt from documentary transfer tax under Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 11911, but a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (PCOR) must accompany the deed, and the transfer is still a "change in ownership" that may trigger reassessment unless a Proposition 19 exclusion applies. Consult a California real estate attorney and obtain title insurance before use.

GIFT DEED

(Grant Deed Conveying a Bona Fide Gift)

State of California

RECORDING INFORMATION

Recording Requested By:
[________________________________]

When Recorded Mail This Deed and All Tax Statements To (Grantee/Donee):

Name: [________________________________]
Address: [________________________________]
City, State, ZIP: [________________________________]

Prepared By:

Name: [________________________________]
Address: [________________________________]
State Bar No. (if attorney): [________________________________]

SPACE ABOVE THIS LINE RESERVED FOR RECORDER'S USE
(California recorders require a blank top margin on the first page — typically 2.5" — for the recording label. Confirm margin and cover-sheet requirements with the county recorder under Cal. Gov. Code § 27361.)

DOCUMENTARY TRANSFER TAX DECLARATION

THE UNDERSIGNED GRANTOR(S) DECLARE(S):

Documentary Transfer Tax is: $0.00 — EXEMPT

☐ This conveyance is EXEMPT from documentary transfer tax.

Exemption recital (must appear on the face of the deed):

"This is a bona fide gift and the grantor received nothing in return, R & T 11911."

Location of property:

☐ City of [________________________________]; OR
☐ Unincorporated area of [________________________________] County.

Parcel Number (APN): [________________________________]

____________________________________
Signature of Declarant or Agent determining tax

DEED INFORMATION

PARTIES

GRANTOR (Donor / Transferor):

Name: [GRANTOR FULL LEGAL NAME]

Mailing Address: [________________________________]

Marital / Vesting Status:
☐ An unmarried person
☐ A married person, as his/her sole and separate property
☐ A married person, joined by spouse
☐ A registered domestic partner
☐ Trustee of [TRUST NAME], dated [__/__/____]

Entity Type (if applicable):
☐ A California limited liability company
☐ A California corporation
☐ A [STATE] entity qualified to do business in California

GRANTEE (Donee / Transferee):

Name: [GRANTEE FULL LEGAL NAME]

Mailing Address: [________________________________]

Relationship to Grantor: [e.g., child, grandchild, spouse, registered domestic partner, sibling, parent]

Manner of Taking Title (Vesting):
☐ A single person
☐ A married couple, as community property
☐ A married couple, as community property with right of survivorship
☐ As joint tenants with right of survivorship
☐ As tenants in common (____% and ____%)
☐ As Trustee of [TRUST NAME], dated [__/__/____]
☐ A California limited liability company / corporation

CONSIDERATION AND GIFT

Consideration Recital

FOR AND IN CONSIDERATION OF THE NATURAL LOVE AND AFFECTION the Grantor has and bears for the Grantee, and for NO MONETARY CONSIDERATION (the recited sum of $0.00 / nominal Ten Dollars ($10.00) being acknowledged as nominal only),

THIS IS A BONA FIDE GIFT. THE GRANTOR RECEIVED NOTHING IN RETURN.

Gift Statement

The Grantor makes a present, voluntary, and irrevocable gift of the Property to the Grantee (Cal. Civ. Code § 1146), intending presently to divest the Grantor of, and to vest in the Grantee, all of the Grantor's right, title, and interest. The Grantee accepts this gift as set forth in the Delivery and Acceptance section below.

CONVEYANCE

Granting Clause (Grant Deed — Civ. Code § 1092)

[GRANTOR NAME] ("Grantor")

hereby GRANTS as a gift to

[GRANTEE NAME] ("Grantee")

all that real property situated in the City of [CITY], County of [COUNTY], State of California, more particularly described in Exhibit A attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference (the "Property"), together with all improvements, tenements, hereditaments, easements, and appurtenances thereto belonging or in anywise appertaining.

Assessor's Parcel Number (APN): [________________________________]

WARRANTY ELECTION

Select ONE:

☐ OPTION A — Grant Deed (Implied § 1113 Covenants — Grantor's Own Acts Only)

By using the word "grant," this conveyance implies, under Cal. Civ. Code § 1113, the covenants — and none other — that (1) previous to this conveyance the Grantor has not conveyed the same estate or any interest therein to any person other than the Grantee, and (2) the estate is, at the time of this conveyance, free from encumbrances done, made, or suffered by the Grantor, or any person claiming under the Grantor. These covenants reach only the Grantor's own acts and do not warrant against prior-owner defects.

☐ OPTION B — Quitclaim (No Warranty)

In lieu of granting, the Grantor REMISES, RELEASES, AND QUITCLAIMS to the Grantee, as a gift, all of the Grantor's right, title, and interest in the Property, WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY OF TITLE, express or implied. No covenant under Civ. Code § 1113 or otherwise is implied; the Grantee takes the Property "AS IS."

EXCEPTIONS TO CONVEYANCE

This conveyance is made and accepted SUBJECT TO the following:

☐ General and special real property taxes and assessments for the current fiscal year, a lien not yet due and payable
☐ Covenants, conditions, restrictions, reservations, rights, rights-of-way, and easements of record
☐ Any matters that an accurate survey or inspection of the Property would disclose
☐ Applicable zoning and land-use ordinances

Existing Mortgage / Lien

NOTICE TO DONEE: If any deed of trust, mortgage, or lien remains on the Property, the Grantee takes the Property SUBJECT TO that encumbrance unless released. This gift does not satisfy or assume the debt unless expressly stated. CAUTION: If the Grantee gives consideration by assuming a remaining loan, that loan balance may be treated as consideration and may make the transfer partially or fully subject to documentary transfer tax notwithstanding the gift recital.

Specific exceptions:

1. [LIEN / ENCUMBRANCE DESCRIPTION], recorded [__/__/____] as Instrument No. [____], Official Records of [COUNTY] County, California.
2. [________________________________]

☐ See Exhibit B for additional exceptions

DELIVERY AND ACCEPTANCE

Delivery

A gift of real property is complete only upon delivery by the Grantor with present donative intent and acceptance by the Grantee (Cal. Civ. Code § 1146 et seq.). The Grantor declares this Gift Deed delivered to the Grantee (or recorded for the Grantee's benefit) as a completed present gift.

Donee's Acceptance

The undersigned GRANTEE/DONEE hereby ACCEPTS this gift of real property.

____________________________________
[GRANTEE NAME] — Signature of Donee

Date: [__/__/____]

FEDERAL GIFT-TAX NOTE

FEDERAL GIFT TAX (NOTICE TO DONOR). A gift of real property may be a reportable gift (26 U.S.C. § 2501 et seq.). The donor — not the donee — is generally liable for any federal gift tax (26 U.S.C. § 2502).

• Annual exclusion: $19,000 per donee for 2026 (indexed). A real-estate gift typically exceeds this, so the donor will usually need to file IRS Form 709.
• Lifetime exemption: $15,000,000 per donor for 2026 (26 U.S.C. § 2010(c)(3), as amended). Filing does not mean tax is owed; the taxable amount is applied against this exemption.
• Carryover basis (26 U.S.C. § 1015): The donee generally takes the donor's adjusted cost basis (carryover basis), NOT a stepped-up basis — which can create capital-gains tax for the donee on a later sale. (California conforms to carryover basis.)

Consult a qualified tax advisor before completing this gift.

CALIFORNIA PROPERTY-TAX REASSESSMENT NOTE (PROPOSITION 19)

CHANGE IN OWNERSHIP / REASSESSMENT. A gift is a change in ownership for California property-tax purposes and generally triggers reassessment to current market value — even though it is a gift.

• Proposition 19 (Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 63.2), effective February 16, 2021, replaced the former Prop 58/193 parent-child and grandparent-grandchild exclusions. The intergenerational exclusion now applies only to a family home (or family farm) that was the transferor's principal residence, and only if the transferee occupies it as a primary residence within one year and timely files the homeowners' exemption. A value cap (factored base-year value plus $1,000,000) applies; any excess is added to the new base-year value.
• Gifts of non-principal-residence property (rentals, vacation homes, raw land) no longer qualify for any parent-child exclusion and will be reassessed.
• File a Claim for Reassessment Exclusion (BOE-19-P parent-child / BOE-19-G grandparent-grandchild) with the county assessor if claiming the exclusion.

Consult a California estate-planning or property-tax attorney before recording a gift between family members.

EXECUTION

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Grantor has executed this Gift Deed on [__/__/____].

GRANTOR SIGNATURE(S)

Individual Grantor / Donor:

____________________________________
[GRANTOR NAME]

Spouse / Registered Domestic Partner (if joining):

____________________________________
[SPOUSE / PARTNER NAME]

Entity Grantor:

[ENTITY NAME]

By: ____________________________________
Name: [________________________________]
Title: [________________________________]

ACKNOWLEDGMENT (Cal. Civ. Code § 1189)

A notary public or other officer completing this certificate verifies only the identity of the individual who signed the document to which this certificate is attached, and not the truthfulness, accuracy, or validity of that document.

State of California

County of [________________________________]

On [__/__/____] before me, [________________________________] (here insert name and title of the officer), personally appeared [________________________________], who proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) whose name(s) is/are subscribed to the within instrument and acknowledged to me that he/she/they executed the same in his/her/their authorized capacity(ies), and that by his/her/their signature(s) on the instrument the person(s), or the entity upon behalf of which the person(s) acted, executed the instrument.

I certify under PENALTY OF PERJURY under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing paragraph is true and correct.

WITNESS my hand and official seal.

Signature ____________________________________ (Seal)

EXHIBIT A — LEGAL DESCRIPTION

Property Address:
[STREET ADDRESS]
[CITY], California [ZIP]

Assessor's Parcel Number (APN): [________________________________]

Legal Description:

[INSERT COMPLETE LEGAL DESCRIPTION FROM THE PRELIMINARY TITLE REPORT, PRIOR DEED, OR RECORD OF SURVEY]

Example formats:

• Lot ___, of Tract No. ___, in the City of [CITY], County of [COUNTY], State of California, as per map recorded in Book ___, Page(s) ___, of Maps, in the Office of the County Recorder of said County.
• [METES AND BOUNDS DESCRIPTION]

EXHIBIT B — ADDITIONAL EXCEPTIONS (If Applicable)

1. [________________________________]
2. [________________________________]
3. [________________________________]

CALIFORNIA RECORDING REQUIREMENTS

Filing

• Filing Office: County Recorder, [COUNTY] County, California
• Recording Fees: Set by Cal. Gov. Code § 27361 and county schedule; a $75 SB 2 (Building Homes and Jobs Act) fee may apply per title, up to the statutory cap, unless an exemption is claimed. Confirm current fees with the recorder.
• Documentary Transfer Tax: $0.00 — EXEMPT as a bona fide gift under Rev. & Tax. Code § 11911. The exemption recital must appear on the face of the deed. A city transfer tax may still apply.

Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (PCOR)

A Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (PCOR) must be filed with this deed at recording (Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 480.3). If the PCOR is not submitted, the recorder adds a $20 fee and the assessor mails a Change in Ownership Statement that must be returned. The PCOR must accurately disclose that the transfer is a gift.

Document Format

☐ First-page top margin reserved for recorder (typically 2.5"); other margins ≥ 0.5"
☐ Minimum 8-point font; printed on white paper, 8.5" × 11"
☐ APN stated on the deed
☐ Documentary transfer tax declaration completed and signed (gift exemption recited)
☐ Civil Code § 1189 acknowledgment with boxed disclaimer
☐ PCOR attached
☐ Prop 19 Claim for Reassessment Exclusion attached (if family transfer and exclusion claimed)
☐ Return-address (mail-to) block completed

TITLE INSURANCE NOTICE

IMPORTANT: Because a gift deed conveys with limited or no warranty (and a quitclaim conveys none), Grantee is strongly advised to obtain an owner's policy of title insurance (CLTA/ALTA) from a licensed California title company.

☐ Grantee acknowledges receipt of this recommendation

CALIFORNIA PRACTICE NOTES

• Gift deed = grant or quitclaim deed. California has no separate statutory gift-deed form; the instrument is a grant deed (Civ. Code § 1092) or quitclaim that recites the gift and the § 11911 exemption.
• Documentary transfer tax recital is mandatory on the face of the deed; for a gift, recite "This is a bona fide gift and the grantor received nothing in return, R & T 11911."
• Reassessment. A gift is a change in ownership; absent a Prop 19 exclusion (§ 63.2), the property is reassessed to market value.
• PCOR must accompany the deed at recording (§ 480.3).
• Spousal/community property. Where the Property is community property, both spouses should execute (Fam. Code § 1102).

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Cal. Civ. Code § 1092 (form of grant) — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&sectionNum=1092.
• Cal. Civ. Code § 1189 (acknowledgment; boxed disclaimer) — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&sectionNum=1189.
• Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 11911 (documentary transfer tax; gift exemption) — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=RTC&sectionNum=11911.
• L.A. County Registrar-Recorder, Notice of Exempt Transactions (bona fide gift recital, R&T 11911) — https://www.lavote.gov/documents/documentary-transfer-tax-statutes.pdf
• Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 63.2 (Proposition 19 parent-child / grandparent-grandchild exclusion); BOE Prop 19 — https://www.boe.ca.gov/prop19/
• Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 480.3 (PCOR); Cal. Gov. Code § 27361 (recording fees)
• IRS, What's New — Estate and Gift Tax (2026 exclusion amounts) — https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/whats-new-estate-and-gift-tax
• 26 U.S.C. §§ 2501, 2502 (federal gift tax); § 1015 (carryover basis)

Disclaimer: This template is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult with a licensed California attorney before using this form. Verify all statutory citations, county recorder formatting, transfer-tax exemptions, Prop 19 eligibility, and current recording fees before recording.

Last Updated: 2026-06-14