The direct answer
Start with the rule: for married U.S. persons who file a joint income tax return, the IRS-published proposed regulations on foreign-gift reporting — proposed §1.6039F-1(c)(2)(iv), "Joint returns," in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2024-24 — state that the $100,000 reporting threshold applies separately to each spouse. This comes from those proposed regulations, not from the current Form 3520 instructions. Filing jointly does not combine you into one $100,000 threshold. Each U.S. spouse looks at the gifts and bequests that spouse received during the year from nonresident aliens or foreign estates (counting foreign persons related to them).
What still takes judgment is deciding which spouse received a particular gift. That turns on four facts:
- Who received each gift — you, your spouse, or both of you (for example, through a joint account)?
- Who the gift was really for — was one spouse just receiving money meant for the other?
- Who the donors are — and whether they are related to each other or acting together.
- Each spouse's status — a U.S. citizen or resident files Part IV; a nonresident alien spouse generally does not.
Filing a joint income tax return does not merge the two thresholds, and it does not decide which spouse received a particular gift.
Scenarios
All amounts are for one tax year, from parents who are nonresident aliens. Both spouses are U.S. citizens unless stated otherwise.
| What happened | Likely starting point | Why it may need review |
|---|---|---|
| Your parents send $150,000 to your own account | Your gift; your related total is over $100,000; you file Part IV | Usually straightforward |
| Your parents send $60,000 to you and $60,000 to your spouse, as genuine gifts to each of you | Each spouse has $60,000 from related donors; neither is over $100,000 from this | Whether the money sent to your spouse was really for you |
| Your parents send $120,000 to a joint account "for both of you" | Who received what is the key question | No 50/50 or other split rule in the IRS sources reviewed — get individual review |
| Your parents send $120,000 to your spouse, but it is really your gift | If your spouse was acting as a nominee or intermediary, it may count as yours | Depends on documented intent and facts |
| Your parents give you $70,000; your spouse's parents give your spouse $70,000 | Each spouse has $70,000 from their own parents | Whether any donors are related or acting together |
| Your spouse is a nonresident alien and receives $200,000 from their parents | Part IV is generally not filed by a nonresident alien | Changes if the spouse is treated as a U.S. resident for the year |
Why "who received it" matters so much
Because the threshold applies separately to each spouse, the key question is which spouse received each gift. A transfer to your spouse is not automatically your gift — and a transfer you received is not automatically shared.
At the same time, the rules look through arrangements. When one person is acting as a nominee or intermediary for another, gifts are combined, and line 56 of Form 3520 asks whether you have reason to believe a donor acted as one. If money passes through your spouse only because your parents wanted it to reach you, treat it as a question to analyze, not a way to split the total.
Joint accounts and gifts "to both of us"
Many parents send money to a couple's joint account, or describe it as a gift to both. The IRS sources reviewed for this guide do not give a rule for splitting such a gift between spouses for Part IV — so don't assume an automatic 50/50 split, and don't assume it all belongs to one of you. Treat these cases as needing individual review. Useful facts to document:
- what your parents said, in writing, about who the gift was for
- which account received it and who owns that account
- how the money was used (for example, a home titled to both of you)
- whether similar gifts were made separately to each spouse
Two different questions: separate thresholds vs. one joint Form 3520
Keep two questions apart. (a) The threshold: for spouses filing jointly, the IRS-published proposed regulations say it applies separately to each spouse, as described above. (b) The form: whether spouses can submit one joint Form 3520 is a different question. The Form 3520 instructions describe a joint Form 3520 for spouses who file a joint income tax return, with the line 1i box checked and both names and TINs in the same order as on their Form 1040. The instructions present this in the setting of spouses who are both transferors, grantors, or beneficiaries of the same foreign trust. We did not find the current instructions directly addressing a joint Form 3520 for gift-only (Part IV) situations, so this guide does not assume it is allowed. Confirm with a tax professional whether one joint Form 3520 or a separate form for each recipient spouse fits your facts. Either way, Form 3520 is filed separately from your Form 1040.
Whichever spouse received the gift, a true gift is generally not taxable income. The questions in this guide are about reporting. Income the money earns later — interest, dividends, rent — is taxable and goes on your return as usual.
A worked example
Anna and Ben are U.S. citizens who file jointly. In 2025, Anna's parents in Taipei (nonresident aliens) send $90,000 to Anna's own account in March and $30,000 to the couple's joint account in October with a message: "for your new home, for both of you." Ben's parents in Seoul send Ben $20,000.
- Anna's and Ben's thresholds are tested separately. Anna's own-account gift is $90,000. Whether some or all of the $30,000 joint-account gift is also hers decides whether Anna is over $100,000.
- Ben's $20,000 from his parents is far under the threshold on its own.
- Because the joint-account gift can change the answer, Anna and Ben have the facts reviewed. If in doubt, a professional may recommend reporting rather than risking a penalty based on the size of the gift.
Records to keep
- Wire records showing sender, receiving account, and account owner(s)
- Written messages from the givers about who each gift was for
- Each spouse's U.S. tax status for the year
- A year-end table per spouse: date, donor, amount in U.S. dollars, account
When professional review makes sense
Whenever gifts went to a joint account or to "both of you," when one spouse may have received money meant for the other, when a spouse is a nonresident alien (see Nonresident spouse: can we file jointly?), or when either spouse's total is close to $100,000. If a deadline has already passed, see I filed Form 3520 late — what should I do now?