On June 29, 2026, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Treasury Department issued Revenue Procedure 2026-25 which provides a safe harbor for certain gift contributions to Trump Accounts. That means contributions will not be subject to year-end gift tax reporting if the requirements of the Revenue Procedure are met.
Previously, there was concern that gifts to Trump accounts were gifts of future interests, not qualifying for the gift tax annual exclusion and thereby triggering gift tax reporting requirements.
If the requirements listed below are met, contributions to Trump accounts will be treated as completed gifts that are not gifts of future interests in property, and to which the annual per-donee gift tax annual exclusion applies.
As a result, qualifying taxpayers will not be required to file gift tax returns reporting such contributions.
Qualifying for the Safe Harbor
To qualify for the safe harbor, all of the following requirements must be met:
- Taxpayer is an individual: The taxpayer (donor) is an individual.
- Cash contributions: The only taxable gifts made by the taxpayer during the calendar year are cash contributions (in the form of cash, check, money order, or electronic funds transfer) to one or more Trump accounts, each made before the calendar year in which the account beneficiary (donee) turns 18.
- Total gifts do not exceed exclusion amount: The taxpayer’s total gifts during the calendar year to each individual who is an account beneficiary, including contributions to that account beneficiary’s Trump account, do not exceed the annual exclusion amount under Section 2503(b) ($19,000 for 2026).
- Contributions do not generate gift/generation-skipping transfer tax: Such contributions to Trump accounts made during the calendar year do not generate for that calendar year either a gift or generation-skipping transfer tax liability, after application of the taxpayer’s remaining applicable credit amount against the gift tax, or remaining generation-skipping transfer tax exemption.
- No gift tax return is required: Disregarding the Trump account contributions, no gift tax return is required to be filed, and no gift tax return is otherwise filed, for that calendar year by or on behalf of the taxpayer, whether for generation skipping transfer tax, portability, or other purposes.
Who is Protected By this Safe Harbor?
The safe harbor is designed to protect taxpayers who otherwise would not have to file a gift tax return from having a filing obligation simply due to a contribution to a Trump account. Those who are otherwise required to file a gift tax return for the year in which a contribution to a Trump account is made are not protected by this safe harbor.
For example, if a taxpayer makes a $5,000 contribution to a Trump account for their child and, in addition, makes an additional non-Trump account gift of $14,500 to the same child in the same taxable year, the total amount of gifts would be $19,500, an amount in excess of the $19,000 gift tax annual exclusion, and the taxpayer would be ineligible for the safe harbor.
Notably, the $1,000 contribution by the government, as well as contributions by non-profit organizations and contributions by employers, are not covered by this safe harbor.
While tax legislation continues to evolve, donors looking to jumpstart children’s savings with Trump Accounts will be pleased to receive this clarification from the IRS and Treasury Departments.
Have additional questions about tax legislation, tax planning or wealth planning?
Click here
