1.  Fund education accounts: Contributing to a grandchild or niece's college fund as a holiday gift or on a regular basis is a great way to remove a financial burden from a family member. A 529 plan is a good way to save for college and money contributed to a 529 account grows on a tax deferred basis. And if that money is actually used for college expenses the earnings are tax free. You can make an annual gift of up to $13,000 directly to a 529 plan. This is a non taxable gift and in addition, the IRS now offers a special 5 year deal: You can contribute five years of gifts ($65,000) to a 529 plan all in one year and the whole amount is considered a non taxable gift. Married couples can contribute $130,000 in one shot.

2.  Pay directly for college: If the student you wish to help is already in college, you can pay their tuition expenses to the university or college. The IRS allows an unlimited exclusion from the gift tax rules for the direct payment of tuition. However, this exclusion only applies to tuition only and not to amounts paid for room and board, books and supplies.

3.  Pay medical bills: If an adult child, sibling or other relative has incurred significant medical bills you can pay an unlimited amount towards those bills and as long as you make the payment directly to the medical provider and it is not for medical care that is  otherwise reimbursed by the patient's insurance then such payments are considered non taxable gifts. The exclusion even applies for amounts you pay for someone's medical insurance premiums.

4.  Take a family vacation: Paying all the expenses for a family vacation for your adult children and even other family members can go a long way to temporarily relieving some of the stress of their financial problems. The payment of vacation expenses is technically considered a taxable for which the annual exclusion of $13,000 per individual would otherwise apply However, the gift of memories is not something the IRS is likely to tax.

5.  Gift property: If you are ready to downsize, you might consider giving your home to financially burdened family members. While an outright gift is not a good idea an intra family loan may be more suitable. In this scenario, parent would "sell" the home to child in return for a promissory note which includes an IRS approved interest rate. The parent would then forgive all or part of the note payments as they become due. While the forgiveness of the notes would be considered a taxable gift the gift could qualify for the annual gift tax exclusion ($13,000 or $26,000 if two parents are involved in the transfer).  

While the above are illustrations of ways to give gifts in a non taxable way, if it is necessary to make taxable gifts it is important to remember that each individual has a one million dollar  gift tax lifetime exemption. This means that you can make taxable gifts of up to one million dollars in your lifetime before actually paying any gift taxes.