The letter must explain who is gifting the money, where the donor's funds are coming from and the relationship between the donor and the recipient. If you go through a bank they will provide the gift letter form to you to get completed.If someone provides a handwritten letter it is filed away. Filling out a gift letter in OP's case would actually be mortgage fraud. Upvote The lender is requiring me to write a gift letter stating I'm gifting my SO the down payment, with no expectation of being repaid. A short letter like this sample gift letter will cover all of the requirements your lender needs. It states how much you're getting and from whom. A mortgage gift letter is a document that helps satisfy the requirement that a borrower's down payment funds come from legitimate sources. A gift letter for a mortgage shows your lender that you don't need to repay gift money toward your down payment. The gift tax is the responsibility of the eligible person receiving the motor vehicle.