A method of dynamically allocating buffers involves receiving a packet onto an ingress circuit. The ingress circuit includes a memory that stores a free buffer list, and an allocated buffer list. Packet data of the packet is stored into a buffer. The buffer is associated with a buffer identification (ID). The buffer ID is moved from the free buffer list to the allocated buffer list once the packet data is stored in the buffer. The buffer ID is used to read the packet data from the buffer and into an egress circuit and is stored in a de-allocation buffer list in the egress circuit. A send buffer IDs command is received from a processor onto the egress circuit and instructs the egress circuit to send the buffer ID to the ingress circuit such that the buffer ID is pushed onto the free buffer list.