Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: Schedule B is the list of gift tax returns the donor filed for earlier periods. Each earlier year or quarter gets a row showing where the return was filed, the credit used, any specific exemption and the taxable gifts. The totals feed the tax computation on page 1 of Form 709. The numbers come from the donor’s earlier returns, not from this year’s gifts.
When to complete Schedule B
The test is the answer on line 18a of Part I. “If you did not file gift tax returns for previous periods, check the” “”No” box on page 1 of Form 709, line 18a”. Otherwise: “If you filed gift tax returns for previous periods, check the” “”Yes” box on line 18a and complete Schedule B by listing the years or quarters in chronological order”. The instructions add “Caution. Complete Schedule A before beginning Schedule B.” If you need more room: “attach a separate sheet using the same format as Schedule B.” The question on line 18a is part of Part I lines 1 to 21. The whole return is explained on the Form 709 page.
Columns (a) and (b): the period and the office
For column (a): “If you filed returns for gifts made before 1971 or after 1981, show the calendar years in column (a).” “If you filed returns for gifts made after 1970 and before 1982, show the calendar quarters.”
For column (b): “In column (b), identify the IRS office where you filed the returns.” “If you have changed your name, be sure to list any other names under which the returns were filed.”
Columns (c) to (e): credit, specific exemption and taxable gifts
Column (c) depends on the size of the earlier gifts. “Prior gifts totaling $500,000 or less. In column (c), enter the amount of applicable credit actually applied in the prior period.” “Prior gifts totaling over $500,000. See Redetermining the Applicable Credit, later.” For those larger totals the instructions send you to the Worksheet for Schedule B, Column (c) (Credit Allowable for Prior Periods). The form itself says “Attach calculations.”
Column (d): “In column (d), enter the amount of specific exemption claimed for gifts made in periods ending before January 1, 1977.” Column (e): “In column (e), show the correct amount (the amount finally determined) of the taxable gifts for each earlier period.” “Amounts shown in column (e) should reflect all taxable gifts, even if no gift tax was paid due to the applicable (formerly unified) credit.”
Lines 1 to 3: the totals
The form captions are short. Line 1 is “Totals for prior periods”. Line 2 is “Amount, if any, by which total specific exemption, line 1, column (d), is more than $30,000”. Line 3 is “Total amount of taxable gifts for prior periods. Add amount on line 1, column (e), and amount, if any, on line 2.”
Where the number comes from
Every entry comes from the donor’s own earlier gift tax returns and any recalculation of the credit. The instructions point to final determinations: “See Regulations section 25.2504-2 for rules regarding the final determination of the value of a gift.” The year-by-year gift amounts for the current year come from Schedule A Part 4, not from this schedule. Gift timing and the annual exclusion are discussed on the Form 709 vs annual exclusion page.
Where it goes next
The form tells you where line 3 lands: “Enter here and on page 1, Part II”. On the tax computation, line 2 is captioned “Enter the amount from Schedule B, line 3”, and line 8 is captioned “Enter the applicable credit against tax allowable for all prior periods from Schedule B, line 1, col. (c)”. Those lines are walked through on the Part II lines 1 to 12 page.
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 instructions state “For gifts made during calendar year 2025”. Check the year printed on your own Form 709 and use the line numbers on that year’s form, because the form you file is the one that governs your line numbering.
Common mistakes
- Listing quarters for the wrong years in column (a). The instructions say “If you filed returns for gifts made after 1970 and before 1982, show the calendar quarters.”
- Entering a credit figure for earlier gifts above the size the instructions allow without recalculating. The instructions say “Prior gifts totaling over $500,000. See Redetermining the Applicable Credit, later.”
- Leaving out gifts that used the credit. The instructions say “Amounts shown in column (e) should reflect all taxable gifts, even if no gift tax was paid due to the applicable (formerly unified) credit.”
Related: Form 709, Form 709 vs annual exclusion, gift tax limit, and Form 709 due date and extension.
Sources
- 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.