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The IRS on Mar. 6 issued two sets of proposed regulations on Trump accounts (Proposed Section 530A Regs. and Proposed Section 6434 Regs.), the new type of tax-advantaged savings account for children created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).
Trump accounts will be established later in 2026 and a pilot program will apply to each qualifying child born in 2025–2028, but no contributions can be made until July 4, 2026. The regulations are proposed to apply to taxable years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2026. These are the first set of proposed regulations issued after Notice 2025-68 was issued in December 2025, which provided an initial overview of the new Trump accounts, announced upcoming proposed regulations and introduced a draft Form 4547 for electing and opening accounts.
Trump accounts will function like traditional individual retirement accounts (IRAs) for eligible minors and are generally subject to an aggregate annual contribution limit of $5,000 (subject to a cost-of-living adjustment after 2027). In addition, each qualifying child born during the 2025–2028 calendar years is eligible to receive a one-time $1,000 federal contribution to a Trump account, which will not count against the aggregate annual limit.
OBBBA added new Internal Revenue Code Sections 530A, 128, and 6434 to establish Trump accounts. Section 530A provides for the establishment of a Trump account for an eligible individual. Section 6434 provides for the one-time $1,000 “pilot program contribution” from the U.S. Treasury to the Trump account of an eligible child with respect to whom an election is made under Section 6434.
The proposed Section 530 regulations provide general requirements for Trump accounts, certain definitions relating to Trump accounts, rules regarding the election to open an initial Trump account, and rules regarding the responsible party for the initial Trump account.
The proposed regulations clarify that there are only two types of Trump accounts: (i) an initial Trump account, and (ii) a rollover Trump account. In addition, because a rollover Trump account must be funded by a qualified rollover contribution, which is defined as a transfer of the entire account balance from the individual’s prior Trump account, an individual is permitted to have only one Trump account containing funds at a time (that is, only one funded Trump account).
The proposed regulations define an individual authorized to open an initial Trump account in two different ways, depending on the particular circumstances.
If an election under Section 6434 for a pilot program contribution is made at the same time as the election to open the initial Trump account, the proposed regulations simply provide that the authorized individual for the election is the same person authorized to open the account (discussed further below under the proposed Section 6434 regulations).
If a pilot program election is not made at the same time as the election to open an initial Trump account (for example, because the eligible individual was born before Jan. 1, 2025, and therefore is not eligible for a pilot program contribution), the proposed regulations provide an ordering rule to determine who is authorized to make the election to open an initial Trump account. Under the proposed ordering rule, the authorized individual would be, in order of priority, a legal guardian, parent, adult sibling, or grandparent of the eligible individual.
By making the election, the authorized individual that there is no other person with a higher priority available to make the election, and, under penalty of perjury, that he or she is authorized under the rules to open the initial Trump account for the eligible individual.
The proposed rules provide that the election by an authorized individual must be made on the form prescribed by the IRS (Form 4547, Trump Account Election(s)) or through an electronic application or IRS web page.
The proposed Section 530A regulations reserve Sections 1.530A-2 through 1.530A-6 for future guidance addressing contributions, investments, distributions, reporting, and other special rules and coordination with IRA rules.
The proposed Section 6434 regulations provide guidance on making an election for the Trump account of an eligible child to receive a $1,000 pilot program contribution.
The proposed regulations clarify that a pilot program election under Section 6434 with respect to a qualifying child generally can be made only by an individual who anticipates that the eligible child will be that individual’s qualifying child under Section 152(c) for the year in which the pilot program election takes place.
For purposes of Section 6434, the term “eligible child” generally means a qualifying child under Section 152(c) who is born during the 2025, 2026, 2027 or 2028 calendar year, has had no prior pilot program election made by any individual, is a U.S. citizen, and has been issued a social security number. Individuals authorized to elect to participate in the pilot program can look to IRS Publication 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information, for more details on whether their child qualifies.
A pilot program election for a particular eligible child can be made starting on the day a child becomes eligible. The last day for making a pilot program election is Dec. 31 of the calendar year in which the eligible child reaches age 17.
In accordance with section 7805(b)(2), the IRS indicated that it intends to publish final regulations within 18 months of the date of enactment of Sections 530A and 6434.
Employer contributions yet to be addressed
This set of proposed regulations does not address the portion of the new law that allows employer contributions to Trump accounts. Businesses can contribute up to $2,500 per year to the Trump account of an employee or of the dependent of an employee, and this amount will not be treated as taxable income to the employee. The $2,500 maximum applies to each employee, regardless of the number of the employee’s eligible dependents.
A Trump account contribution program can also be offered via salary reduction under a Section 125 cafeteria plan if the contribution is made to the Trump account of the employee’s dependent, though not if the contribution is made to the Trump account of the employee. All contributions from parents, employers and others (other than exempt government contributions) will count toward the annual $5,000 cap and will enjoy tax-deferred growth within the account.
The IRS indicated that it intends to issue guidance under Section 128 at a future date.
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