Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: Part 4 of Schedule A turns the gifts listed in Parts 1 to 3 into taxable gifts. It totals the gifts, subtracts annual exclusions, subtracts marital and charitable deductions, adds any GST tax on direct skips, and carries the result to line 1 of the tax computation. Line 12 is a separate election for annuities.
What Part 4 does
The form titles the part “Taxable Gift Reconciliation”. Line 1 is “Total value of gifts of donor. Add totals from column (i) of Parts 1, 2, and 3”, line 2 is “Total annual exclusions for gifts listed on line 1” and line 3 is “Total included amount of gifts. Subtract line 2 from line 1”. The return as a whole is explained on the Form 709 page.
Lines 1 to 3: gifts and annual exclusions
For line 1: “Enter only gifts of the donor.” “If gift splitting has been elected, enter only the value of the gift that is attributable to the spouse that is filing the return.”
For line 2: “Enter the total annual exclusions you are claiming for the gifts listed on Schedule A.” On split gifts, “the annual exclusion you claim against that gift may not be more than the smaller of your half of the gift or $19,000.” The Form 709 and the annual exclusion page and the gift splitting page cover the rule behind those exclusions.
Lines 4 to 6: the marital deduction
The form captions line 4 as “Gifts of interests to U.S. citizen spouse for which a marital deduction will be claimed.” The instructions say “Enter the total value of items on Parts 1 and 3 of Schedule A for which the box in column (l) is checked. Do not enter any gift that you did not include on Schedule A.” A caution: “Do not enter on line 4 any gifts to your spouse who was not a U.S. citizen at the time of the gift.”
Line 5 is “Exclusions attributable to gifts on line 4” and line 6 is “Marital deduction. Subtract line 5 from line 4”. On the rule for life estates: “Generally, you cannot take the marital deduction if the gift to your spouse is a terminable interest.” The exception for a life estate requires that “Your spouse is entitled for life to all of the income from the entire interest.”
The QTIP election, from the instructions: “You may elect to deduct a gift of a terminable interest if it meets requirements (1), (2), and (4) earlier, even though it does not meet requirement (3).” “You make this election simply by listing the QTIP on Schedule A and deducting its value from Schedule A, Part 4, line 4, checking the box in column (l).” “You may not make the election on a late-filed Form 709.” The form’s QTIP statement adds that the property “will be included in your spouse’s gross estate upon your spouse’s death (section 2044)”.
The special QTIP election: “you may also check column (m) to elect to treat the entire trust as non-QTIP for purposes of the GST tax.”
Line 7: the charitable deduction
The form captions the line: “Charitable deduction. Enter the total value of items on Parts 1 and 3 of Schedule A for which the box in column (k) is checked”. The instructions say “On line 7, show your total charitable, public, or similar gifts (minus annual exclusions allowed).” Qualifying recipients include “The United States, a state or political subdivision of a state, or the District of Columbia for exclusively public purposes;” The charitable lead trusts page covers one trust form that can sit in Part 3.
Line 8 is “Total deductions. Add lines 6 and 7” and line 9 is “Subtract line 8 from line 3”.
Lines 10 and 11: GST tax and taxable gifts
The instructions say “If GST tax is due on any gift which is a direct skip, the amount of the gift shall be increased by the amount of GST tax imposed on the direct skip.” And on where the number comes from: “complete Schedule D, and enter on line 10 the total from Schedule D, Part 3, column (g). Otherwise, enter zero on line 10.” See Schedule D. Line 11 is “Taxable gifts. Add lines 9 and 10.” The form tells you to enter it “here and on page 1, Part II”, the tax computation explained on the Part 2 tax computation lines 1 to 12 page.
Line 12: election out of QTIP treatment of annuities
The instructions say “The donor spouse can elect out of QTIP treatment, however, by checking the box on line 12 and entering the item number from Schedule A for the annuities for which you are making the election.” “Once made, the election is irrevocable.” Annuities entered there are kept off line 4: “Any annuities entered on line 12 cannot also be entered on line 4 of Schedule A, Part 4.”
Where the numbers come from
Part 4 has no new records of its own. Line 1 comes from the column (i) totals on Schedule A Part 1, Schedule A Part 2 and Schedule A Part 3. Lines 4 and 7 come from the boxes checked in columns (l) and (k) on those parts. Line 10 comes from Schedule D. The prior-period record is Schedule B.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads Form 709 (2025) and the 2025 Instructions for Form 709. Those are the current files irs.gov served on 2026-10-18, byte-identical to the archived copies. The form’s heading says “For gifts made during calendar year 2025”. Check the year printed on your own Form 709 and use the line numbers and column letters on that year’s form.
Common mistakes
- Entering a gift on line 4 that was never listed on Schedule A. The instructions say “Do not enter any gift that you did not include on Schedule A.”
- Claiming the marital deduction for a gift to a spouse who was not a U.S. citizen. The instructions say “Do not enter on line 4 any gifts to your spouse who was not a U.S. citizen at the time of the gift.”
- Trying to make a QTIP election on a return filed after the due date. The instructions say “You may not make the election on a late-filed Form 709.”
Related: Form 709, Form 709 and the annual exclusion, gift splitting, charitable lead trusts, and gift tax limit.
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Answer againSources
- Instructions for Form 709 (2025), United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return, for gifts made during calendar year 2025: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i709.pdf
- Form 709 (2025), United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f709.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 18, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.