source:
  type: guide
  id: fnma-sel-b3-4.3-04
  authority: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-4.3-04 — Personal Gifts
  description: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-4.3-04 — Personal Gifts.
  coverage_tier: operative
obligations:
- id: fnma-sel-b3-4.3-04-full
  canonical_id: fnma-sel-b3-4.3-04-full
  section: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-4.3-04 — Personal Gifts
  type: do
  tags:
  - regulator-direct
  - fnma
  - selling-guide
  - corpus-expansion
  - tier-operative
  primary_source:
    tier: 1
    authority: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-4.3-04 — Personal Gifts
    source_class: fnma-guide
    source_url: https://singlefamily.fanniemae.com/media/document/pdf/selling-guide
    snapshot_id: 5f7b8b79da595d76
    fetched_at: '2026-05-25T14:09:57Z'
    content_hash: sha256:98cf85a02861bbe84914a0e339b327c8fc131869a8a573882007bbeea60c5701
    paragraph_quote: 'B3-4.3-04, Personal Gifts (02/04/2026) Introduction This topic
      contains information on personal gifts, including: Gift Funds Acceptable Donors
      Minimum Borrower Contribution Requirements Documentation Requirements Verifying
      Donor Availability of Funds and Transfer of Gift Funds Gift Funds A borrower
      of a mortgage loan secured by a principal residence or second home may use funds
      received as a personal gift from an acceptable donor. Gift funds may fund all
      or part of the down payment, closing costs, or ﬁnancial reserves subject to
      the minimum borrower contribution requirements below. Gifts are not allowed
      on an investment property. Note: A gift of equity may not be used for ﬁnancial
      reserves. For additional information, see B3-4.3-05, Gifts of Equity. Acceptable
      Donors A gift can be provided by: a relative, deﬁned as the borrower’s spouse,
      child, or other dependent, or by any other individual who is related to the
      borrower by blood, marriage, adoption, or legal guardianship; or a non-relative
      that shares a familial relationship with the borrower deﬁned as a domestic partner
      (or relative of the domestic partner), individual engaged to marry the borrower,
      former relative, or an individual with a long-standing familial-like or mentorship
      relationship with the borrower. The donor may not be, or have any aﬃliation
      with, the builder, the developer, the real estate agent, or any other interested
      party to the transaction. Note: Gift funds from the seller who is also an acceptable
      donor and not aﬃliated with any other interested party to the transaction are
      allowed. The donor of a gift of equity is not considered an interested party
      to the transaction. See B3-4.3-06, Grants and Lender Contributions, for information
      about donations from entities (grants). Published May 6, 2026 425 Minimum Borrower
      Contribution Requirements The following table describes the minimum borrower
      contribution requirements for transactions that contain gifts. LTV, CLTV, or
      HCLTV Ratio Minimum Borrower Contribution Requirement from Borrower’s Own Funds
      80% or less One- to four-unit principal residence Second home A minimum borrower
      contribution from the borrower’s own funds is not required. All funds needed
      to complete the transaction can come from a gift. Greater than 80% One-unit
      principal residence A minimum borrower contribution from the borrower''s own
      funds is not required. All funds needed to complete the transaction can come
      from a gift. Two- to four-unit principal residence Second home The borrower
      must make a 5% minimum borrower contribution from their own funds. 1 After the
      minimum borrower contribution has been met, gifts can be used to supplement
      the down payment, closing costs, and reserves. See B5-6-02, HomeReady Mortgage
      Underwriting Methods and Requirements, for HomeReady mortgage minimum borrower
      contribution and down payment requirements. Documentation Requirements Gifts
      must be evidenced by a letter signed by the donor, called a gift letter. When
      the gift is sourced by a trust established by an acceptable donor or an estate
      of an acceptable donor, the gift letter must be signed by the donor and list
      the name of the trust or the estate account. The gift letter must: specify the
      actual or the maximum dollar amount of the gift; include the donor’s statement
      that no repayment is expected; and indicate the donor’s name, address, telephone
      number, and relationship to the borrower. Published May 6, 2026 426 Note: If
      the actual amount of the gift received is diﬀerent than the amount used to underwrite
      the loan caseﬁle in DU, the lender may need to resubmit the loan caseﬁle to
      DU in accordance with B3-2-10, Accuracy of DU Data, DU Tolerances, and Errors
      in the Credit Report. For manually underwritten loans, the lender must verify
      the borrower has suﬃcient funds for closing, down payment and/or ﬁnancial reserves.
      When a gift from an acceptable donor is being pooled with the borrower’s funds
      to make up the required minimum cash down payment, the following items must
      also be included: A certiﬁcation from the donor stating that they have lived
      with the borrower for the past 12 months and will continue to do so in the new
      residence. Documents that demonstrate a history of borrower and donor shared
      residency. The donor’s address must be the same as the borrower’s address. Examples
      include but are not limited to a copy of a driver’s license, a bill, or a bank
      statement. Verifying Donor Availability of Funds and Transfer of Gift Funds
      The lender must verify that suﬃcient funds to cover the gift are either in the
      donor’s account (such as a checking, savings or investment account, or trust
      or estate account owned by the donor) or have been transferred to the borrower’s
      account. Acceptable documentation includes the following: a copy of the donor’s
      check and the borrower’s deposit slip, a copy of the donor’s withdrawal slip
      and the borrower’s deposit slip, evidence of the electronic transfer of funds
      from the donor''s account to the borrower''s account or to the closing agent;
      a copy of the donor’s check to the closing agent, or a settlement statement
      showing receipt of the donor’s check. When the funds are not transferred prior
      to settlement, the lender must document that the donor gave the closing agent
      the gift funds in the form of an electronic transfer, certiﬁed check, a cashier’s
      check, or other oﬃcial check. If the borrower receives a gift from an acceptable
      donor who has lived with the borrower for the last 12 months, the gift is considered
      the borrower’s own funds and may be used to satisfy the minimum borrower contribution
      requirement as long as both individuals will use the home being purchased as
      their principal residence. 1 Recent Related Announcements The table below provides
      references to recently issued Announcements that are related to this topic.
      Announcements and Release Notes Issue Date Announcement SEL-2026-01 February
      04, 2026 Announcement SEL-2023-08 September 06, 2023 Published May 6, 2026 427
      Announcements and Release Notes Issue Date Announcement SEL-2022-10 December
      14, 2022 Announcement SEL-2022-08 September 07, 2022 Announcement SEL-2020-06
      October 07, 2020'
  judgment: false
