When someone gives you money to help you buy a house, your lender requires a gift letter, along with documents showing how the money changes hands. A gift letter is a piece of legal, written correspondence explicitly stating that money received isn't expected to be repaid.One, a gift is not taxable for the donor or donee unless it exceeds lifetime gift tax exclusion during their lifetime. A down payment can be hard to come by. One option is to be gifted the money, but this has certain requirements, such as a gift letter. A gift letter is an important, formal, legal piece of documentation that can help explain that a (usually rather large) sum of money was gifted to you. Make sure to provide a letter or other documentation stating that this is a gift, not a loan or other form of ongoing interest. ASSESSOR'S PARCEL NO. --. --. I declare that the documentary transfer tax for this. This will generally require the donor to sign a gifted deposit letter confirming the money is a gift.