Trump Accounts, 91 Fed. Reg. 63200 (Sept. 30, 2026) (TD 10056); Trump Accounts, 91 Fed. Reg. 63215 (proposed Sept. 30, 2026) (CC-00226466-26)

The Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service have jointly issued temporary regulations (Treasury Decision 10056, RIN 1545-BS27) and a concurrent notice of proposed rulemaking (CC-00226466-26, RIN 1545-BR91) implementing Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 530A. Enacted under Section 70204 of Public Law 119-21, 139 Stat. 72 (July 4, 2025), commonly referred to as the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), Section 530A establishes “Trump accounts”—specialized traditional Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) maintained for eligible minors during a statutorily defined “growth period” ending on December 31 of the calendar year in which the beneficiary attains age 17.

Treasury and the IRS issued these dual regulations to establish an immediate, uniform, and legally sound administrative structure for account enrollment, master group trust investment, auto-account administration, and broad-based private and governmental funding through qualified general and stock contributions. The immediate release of temporary regulations under 26 CFR §§ 1.530A-1T and 1.530A-7T addresses an urgent statutory mandate: while contributions to Trump accounts were statutorily prohibited prior to July 4, 2026, accounts may now accept funds, and Treasury auto-enrollment elections are slated to commence on or about October 1, 2026. Without immediately effective rules, trustees, financial agents, and donors lacked an operative regulatory framework to execute account creation, protect taxpayer return information, and administer large-scale contributions.

Reasons for Release and Administrative Procedure Act Compliance

Treasury’s decision to issue immediately effective temporary regulations alongside proposed regulations rests on explicit statutory authority and administrative necessity. Under IRC Section 7805(e)(1), whenever Treasury issues temporary regulations, it must concurrently publish a cross-referenced notice of proposed rulemaking.

To bypass the standard advance notice-and-comment requirements under Section 553(b)(3)(B) of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B)), Treasury and the IRS made a formal finding of “good cause.” The preamble to TD 10056 states that following advance notice-and-comment procedures prior to effectiveness was “impracticable and contrary to the public interest.” Specifically, Treasury emphasized that:

“Without immediately effective rules, there would be no uniform framework for determining when an initial Trump account has been established, which account is the account beneficiary’s initial Trump account, how auto enrollment by the Secretary would work, how a responsible party is identified, or how an auto account may be claimed and transferred. Those issues must be resolved before trustees and the Secretary can administer Trump accounts as required by section 530A and before contributions can be accepted and properly directed.”

Furthermore, Treasury highlighted the severe public detriment of regulatory delay:

“If the effective date of the regulations was delayed until after notice-and-comment procedures were completed, the Secretary would be unable to begin administering auto elections and auto accounts on a uniform basis, and eligible individuals may not have an account in which to receive qualified general contributions or a $1,000 pilot program contribution... That result would be contrary to the public interest because it would delay making the accounts available for eligible individuals at the earliest practicable time, which in turn would shorten the growth period of such accounts.”

Treasury also invoked APA Section 553(d)(3) and Congressional Review Act Section 808(2) (5 U.S.C. 808(2)) to waive the standard 30-day delayed effective date for major rules, rendering TD 10056 effective immediately upon Federal Register publication.

Revisions, Additions, and Deletions Relative to Prior Guidance

The temporary and proposed regulations represent a significant evolution from earlier Treasury administrative guidance, most notably Notice 2025-68 (2025-52 I.R.B. 856) and the notice of proposed rulemaking published on March 9, 2026 (REG-117270-25, 91 FR 11194).

Withdrawal of Prior Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

Under CC-00226466-26, Treasury formally withdrew the prior NPRM (REG-117270-25). Under the withdrawn proposal, initial Trump account setup relied almost entirely on affirmative opt-in elections by parents or legal guardians using Form 4547 pursuant to Section 530A(b)(2)(C)(ii). In REG-117270-25, Treasury had contemplated limiting the Secretary’s statutory auto-election authority under Section 530A(b)(2)(C)(i) solely to “deemed elections” where an unauthorized party submitted an election.

Addition of Broad Treasury Auto-Enrollment

In response to extensive public comment, Treasury completely reversed this position, substituting a broad automatic enrollment structure. Commenters demonstrated that requiring affirmative opt-in elections by parents would severely depress participation—estimating that opt-in enrollment would reach only ~50% of eligible children (similar to Maine’s Alfond Grant program), leaving tens of millions of low-income children without accounts. Under the newly promulgated 26 CFR § 1.530A-1T(d)(2), on or about October 1, 2026, the Secretary will execute a bulk election under Section 530A(b)(2)(C)(i) to establish an “auto account” for every eligible child who has been issued a Social Security Number under Section 24(h)(7), has not reached age 18 in the calendar year, and for whom no prior election on Form 4547 was filed. Periodic elections will follow to ensure nearly 100% participation across all 73.3 million eligible American children.

Implementation of the Master Group Trust Architecture

To resolve severe statutory privacy barriers under IRC Section 6103—which prohibits disclosure of taxpayer return information (including the existence of an account) to financial institutions or third parties prior to formal identity authentication—Treasury created a novel dual-layer structure. Individual auto accounts are maintained under separate written governing instruments with account-level recordkeeping managed by Treasury’s financial agent. However, all assets attributable to auto accounts are collectively invested through a “master group trust” established pursuant to Revenue Ruling 81-100, 1981-1 C.B. 326, which is exempt from tax under IRC Section 408(e). As Treasury explained in the preamble:

“The master group trust addresses the concerns reflected in the prior § 1.530A-1 NPRM about disclosure of return information because investments are held and administered at the master-group-trust level. Thus, the trustee of the master group trust can execute transactions for the trust without receiving or disclosing account-identifying return information for each account beneficiary in connection with each transaction.”

Formalization of Qualified Stock Contributions and Holding Period Rules

Section 1.530A-7T introduces a comprehensive framework allowing eligible donors to make “qualified stock contributions”—a specialized form of qualified general contribution under Section 530A(f). Qualified stock must be publicly traded on a national securities exchange, issued by a domestic corporation (IRC § 7701(a)(3), (4)), and free of pre-existing transfer restrictions (such as SEC Rule 144 restricted stock). Under § 1.530A-7T(d)(3), contributed stock is subject to a mandatory 5-year minimum holding period (or until the end of the beneficiary’s growth period, if earlier). Specific statutory and regulatory exceptions allow disposition during the 5-year window for qualified ABLE rollovers, cash in lieu of fractional shares, tender offer acceptances, or corporate acquisitions/mergers. Improper dispositions require the trustee to repurchase matching shares as soon as practicable.

Introduction of Approved Classes for Donor Contributions

While Section 530A(f)(3) defines a “qualified class” based on age, birth year, or qualified geographic area (requiring at least 5,000 beneficiaries), 26 CFR § 1.530A-7T(b)(1) adds the concept of an “approved class.” An approved class allows donors to combine both geographic boundaries (e.g., specific U.S. Postal Service 5-digit ZIP codes or states) and birth-year criteria, provided the class comprises no fewer than 5,000 beneficiaries. Treasury explicitly treats an approved class as a qualified class under Section 530A(f)(1)(B) and (C).

Statutory Analysis and Legal Justifications Offered by Treasury

Treasury and the IRS relied on explicit statutory delegations and statutory construction principles to justify each regulatory innovation:

Authority to Modify IRA Rules Under Section 530A(a)

Section 530A(a) provides that a Trump account is treated as a traditional IRA under Section 408(a) “except as provided in this section or under regulations or guidance established by the Secretary.” Treasury invoked this express statutory override power in two key instances:

Exception to Cash Contribution Requirement: IRC Section 408(a)(1) mandates that IRA contributions must be made in cash. Treasury utilized Section 530A(a) to override Section 408(a)(1) for qualified stock contributions, reasoning that permitting direct contributions of publicly traded domestic equity “will facilitate more donations from eligible donors, and will help create a practical pathway for large-scale private giving.”
Investment Restrictions vs. Stock Ownership: Section 530A(b)(1)(C)(iii) mandates that funds in a Trump account during the growth period must be invested exclusively in index-tracking equity funds. Treasury concluded that holding contributed qualified stock does not violate this rule because “no funds in the account are used to acquire the contributed stock. Rather, the stock is contributed directly into the individual Trump accounts.”

Legal Authority for Auto-Enrollment and Deemed Activation

Section 530A(b)(1)(A)(i) explicitly mandates that an initial Trump account is to be “created or organized by the Secretary,” while Section 530A(b)(2)(C)(i) grants the Secretary direct authority to make an election to establish the account. Treasury justified auto-enrollment by determining that when the Secretary executes an auto-election, the Secretary acts in a statutory capacity as the “responsible party” for the auto account and is deemed to have activated the account governing instrument with the Treasury-designated trustee under Section 530A(g).

Protection of Tax Return Information Under IRC Section 6103

Treasury emphasized that information regarding eligible children obtained from tax returns or Social Security Administration records constitutes highly protected return information under Section 6103. Treasury justified its multi-step claiming process (§ 1.530A-1T(f)) by noting that a guardian or legal custodian seeking to claim an auto account must independently authenticate their identity, prove legal authority under state law, and satisfy Section 6103(c) consent requirements before protected account information or funds can be released to a commercial receiving trustee.

Charitable and Private Foundation Tax Safe Harbors

To encourage private philanthropy, 26 CFR § 1.530A-7T(e) establishes key statutory safe harbors for donors and tax-exempt entities funding general funding contributions:

Section 501(c)(3) Exempt Purpose: Section 1.530A-7T(e)(2)(i) confirms that a 501(c)(3) organization furthers its charitable purpose by making a general funding contribution (including through donor-advised funds).
Private Foundation Expenditure Responsibility Safe Harbor: IRC Section 4945(d)(4) requires private foundations to exercise “expenditure responsibility” over grants to non-public charities, while Section 4966 imposes similar rules on donor-advised fund distributions. Section 1.530A-7T(e)(2)(ii) establishes that a general funding contribution is neither an individual grant under Section 4945 nor a distribution to a natural person under Section 4966. Crucially, the regulation dictates that an eligible donor making a qualified general funding contribution “is treated, for purposes of sections 4945 and 4966, as exercising expenditure responsibility in accordance with section 4945(h).” Treasury justified this safe harbor by pointing to the rigid safeguards embedded in Treasury acceptance agreements, public reporting under Section 530A(i), and objective class criteria.

Effective Dates, Expiration, and Taxpayer Reliance Rules

Tax practitioners and financial institutions must carefully distinguish between the legal effect of the temporary regulations and the concurrent proposed regulations:

Temporary Regulations (TD 10056 / §§ 1.530A-1T and 1.530A-7T)

Effective Date: September 29, 2026 (the date filed/published in the Federal Register).
Applicability Dates: Applies to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.
Expiration Date: Pursuant to IRC Section 7805(e)(2), the temporary regulations expire three years after issuance, on September 30, 2029 (26 CFR §§ 1.530A-1T(g), 1.530A-7T(f)).
Legal Effect: As temporary Treasury regulations, §§ 1.530A-1T and 1.530A-7T carry the binding force of law. Taxpayers, trustees, and donors must comply with these rules immediately for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.

Proposed Regulations (CC-00226466-26 / Proposed §§ 1.530A-1 and 1.530A-7)

Proposed Applicability Date: Proposed §§ 1.530A-1 and 1.530A-7 will apply to taxable years beginning on or after the date the final Treasury Decision adopting them as final regulations is published in the Federal Register.
Taxpayer Reliance Rule: Treasury explicitly stated in the preamble to CC-00226466-26:

“Taxpayers may not rely on these proposed regulations. See §§ 1.530A-1T and 1.530A-7T.”

Because the temporary regulations (§§ 1.530A-1T and 1.530A-7T) are binding and in effect immediately, taxpayers and practitioners do not rely on the proposed regulations; instead, they are subject to the mandatory temporary regulations pending the promulgation of final regulations.

Prepared with assistance from Gemini Notebook.