the right answer. host: with wilmington, north carolina. john. caller: i have a question about gift taxes. we are trying to purchase a house and qualifying for a loan, and my spouse wants -- we are buying the house as my spouse invitationly and want to know how -- individually and want to know how we declare income that i deposit in my spouse's individual account to account for qualifying for a higher mortgage amount using the gift tax? guest: first of all, the gift tax almost never comes into play. when if is owed it is owed by the giver, not the recipient and between spouses there is no gift tax. you can give any amount without ever worrying about that. i think your issue probably is