When we wrote recently about the new Trump Accounts, one of the unanswered questions was how contributions to these accounts would be treated for federal gift tax purposes. On June 29, 2026, the IRS and Treasury Department provided guidance on that question, issuing Revenue Procedure 2026-25.

Why This Matters

As we noted in our earlier post, Trump Account beneficiaries generally cannot access funds in the account until age 18. That raised a real concern: under general gift tax principles, only transfers of a “present interest” qualify for the annual gift tax exclusion, so contributions to a Trump Account could arguably be treated as gifts of a future interest (meaning every contribution, no matter how small, would need to be reported on a federal gift tax return (Form 709)). The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) asked the Treasury and the IRS to clarify the issue, and until now, the cautious approach was to treat every contribution as a taxable gift and file accordingly.

Rev. Proc. 2026-25 resolves that uncertainty. It creates a safe harbor: contributions that meet its requirements are treated as completed gifts of a present interest, eligible for the annual gift tax exclusion. Donors who satisfy the safe harbor do not need to file a Form 709 solely to report those contributions.

Safe-Harbor Requirements

To qualify, all five of the following must be true for the donor, for that calendar year:

1. Individual donor. The taxpayer is an individual (not a trust, estate, or entity).

2. Cash Trump Account contributions are the only taxable gifts made all year. 

3. Per-beneficiary cap. The donor's total gifts to each account beneficiary, including but not limited to the Trump Account contribution, stay within the annual gift tax exclusion amount ($19,000 per recipient for 2026).

4. No gift or GST tax liability results. After applying the donor's remaining lifetime credit or GST exemption, the contributions don't generate any actual gift or GST tax owed for the year.

5. No other reason to file. Apart from the Trump Account contributions, the donor isn't otherwise required to file and doesn't otherwise file a gift tax return for that year, for any reason.

All or Nothing

It's worth being precise about what the safe harbor actually does, because it's easy to read requirement #2 too broadly. The Rev. Proc. doesn't rule on whether Trump Account contributions are legally present-interest or future-interest gifts. What it does is much narrower: if a donor's only taxable gift activity for the year is Trump Account contributions within the limits, the IRS agrees not to make the donor file a return to report it.

The moment a donor has any other taxable gift to report that year, the donor is already filing a Form 709 regardless. And once the donor is filing, the IRS's position is that the safe harbor no longer applies, so the Trump Account contributions must be reported on a return as well. 

As the IRS noted, nearly six million elections to open a Trump Account had been received as of June 4, 2026. With most donors nowhere near the lifetime exclusion amount, requiring a gift tax return for every contribution would create substantial compliance and administrative burdens. But if a donor is already filing a return for some other reason, that flood-of-paperwork concern doesn't apply, so the IRS isn't extending the same relief.

Per the example in the Rev. Proc., a donor contributes $5,000 to each of three Trump Accounts (beneficiaries A, B, and C) and makes no other gifts. The safe harbor applies, and no return is required. If the donor also gives beneficiary C an additional $14,500 (bringing C’s total to $19,500, $500 over the $19,000 exclusion), the donor must file a Form 709 reporting all of that year’s gifts, and all three Trump Account contributions must be reported on that return.

Practical Takeaway

The safe harbor is aimed at the simplest case: a donor whose only gift-giving all year is Trump Account contributions under the $19,000 per person limit. If a donor is going to need to file a gift tax return for any other reason that year, the donor should assume the Trump Account contributions will need to be reported on that return too, and plan accordingly.

We will continue to monitor developments as Treasury and the IRS provide further guidance.

As the IRS noted, nearly six million elections to open a Trump Account had been received as of June 4, 2026.