Can you gift an I bond before it matures and avoid an income tax hit?
No. Like most people, you’ve likely been deferring reporting for federal income tax purposes the interest that you earned on the savings bond.
Gifting away EE or I bonds to someone else before those bonds mature will accelerate the interest reporting.
It doesn’t matter whether the bonds are reissued in the recipient’s name. You still owe U.S. tax on all the previously deferred interest in the year of the gift. International accounts under more scrutiny.
You will have the cash to pay for the taxes, if you wait to redeem.