# 2026-16314: IRS Tackles Trump Accounts: New Rules Ensure Bosses Don't Play Favorites 2026-16314, Employer Contributions to Trump Accounts and Nondiscrimination Rules for Dependent Care Assistance Programs, is a Federal Register proposed rule from Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service published 2026-08-11, effective 2026-01-01; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-18). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16314 - As of: 2026-08-18 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Document number: 2026-16314 - Title: Employer Contributions to Trump Accounts and Nondiscrimination Rules for Dependent Care Assistance Programs - Type: Proposed Rule - Agencies: Treasury Department; Internal Revenue Service - Citation: 91 FR 51611 - Published: 2026-08-11 - Effective: 2026-01-01 - Comments close: 2026-09-25 - Significant: no - Touches household money: yes - Regulation identifier numbers: 1545-BS19 - Last updated: 2026-08-18 ## In one line IRS Tackles Trump Accounts: New Rules Ensure Bosses Don't Play Favorites ## Summary The IRS is proposing new rules for employers who contribute to Trump accounts and dependent care assistance programs. These rules focus on making sure contributions are fair and don’t favor certain employees over others. Employers and employees involved should pay attention, as comments are due by September 25, 2026, and a public hearing is set for October 15, 2026. ## Abstract This document contains proposed regulations that would provide guidance with respect to employer contributions to Trump accounts, including applicable nondiscrimination rules, and the nondiscrimination rules for dependent care assistance programs. This document also provides a notice of a public hearing on the proposed regulations. The proposed regulations would affect employers maintaining a Trump account contribution program or a dependent care assistance program and employees participating in those programs. ## Effects PRIA read - Up to $2,500 Tax-Free Trump Contributions: benefit, high. If your employer contributes to a Trump account for you or your dependent, you can exclude up to $2,500 from your gross income per employee per year. The $2,500 limit applies for 2026 and 2027 and is indexed for inflation for taxable years after 2027. - Limit Applies Per Employee Across Employers: cost, medium. The $2,500 exclusion limit for section 128 contributions applies per employee across all employers for an employee's taxable year. Employers must ensure their plan does not contribute more than the annual limit for each employee. - Payroll Tax Treatment of Trump Contributions: cost, low. Employer contributions that are excludable from income under section 128 are still treated as wages for FICA, FUTA, and RRTA purposes unless another exclusion applies, but those excluded amounts generally are not subject to Federal income tax withholding. This means payroll tax reporting and paymen… - W-2 Reporting and Year-End Statement Required: benefit, low. Employers must furnish a written statement showing section 128 contributions made for an employee during the prior calendar year, which may be reported on the Form W-2 in box 12 using code TA. The written statement must be furnished on or before January 31 or included on the W-2 as specified. - Cafeteria Plan Salary Reduction Only for Dependents: benefit, medium. A section 125 cafeteria plan may allow pre-tax salary reduction elections to fund a Trump account only when the contribution is made to a dependent's Trump account, not to the employee's own Trump account. Employers must permit prospective elections and allow employees to change or revoke elections… - Self-Employed Individuals Are Ineligible: cost, high. Self-employed individuals (for example, partners, sole proprietors, or 2-percent S corporation shareholders) do not count as ‘‘employees’’ for section 128 and therefore are not eligible to receive employer section 128 contributions under a Trump account contribution program. A self-employed person… - Contributions Limited to Growth-Period Dependents: cost, medium. Employer section 128 contributions may be made only to Trump accounts whose beneficiary is in the growth period, which runs from account establishment until December 31 of the calendar year the beneficiary attains age 17. Contributions to beneficiaries beyond that growth period are not permitted un… - Dependent Care Assistance Exclusion Limits: benefit, high. Amounts provided under a dependent care assistance program are excludable from an employee's gross income up to $7,500 per year (or $3,750 if married filing a separate return). The program must satisfy nondiscrimination and other statutory requirements for the exclusion to apply. - Nondiscrimination Failures Tax HCE Benefits: cost, medium. If a Trump account contribution program or dependent care assistance program fails the nondiscrimination rules, benefits provided to highly compensated employees (HCEs) are not excludable from income, while benefits remain excludable for employees who are not HCEs. The proposed rules clarify eligib… - Employers May Not Restrict Trustees: benefit, low. An employer cannot limit contributions under a Trump account contribution program to Trump accounts held only by particular trustee(s); contributions must be allowed to go to the beneficiary's existing Trump account regardless of trustee. This is intended to ensure employees can receive contributio… ## Related documents - [2026-20447](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20447): Transparency in Coverage, 2026-10-06 - [2026-20277](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20277): Federal Scholarship Tax Credit, 2026-10-02 - [2026-20026](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20026): Trump Accounts, 2026-09-30 - [2026-20027](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20027): Trump Accounts, 2026-09-30 - [2026-18219](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-18219): Car Loan Interest Deduction, 2026-09-08 - [2026-17622](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-17622): Federal Independent Dispute Resolution Operations; Correction, 2026-08-28 ## Sources - [2026-16314 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/11/2026-16314/employer-contributions-to-trump-accounts-and-nondiscrimination-rules-for-dependent-care-assistance) - [2026-16314 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-08-11/pdf/2026-16314.pdf) ## Related - [Previous: 2026-16296, Substances Generally Recognized as Safe](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16296) - [Next: 2026-16317, Television Broadcasting Services St. George, Utah](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16317) - [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16314 (as of 2026-08-18).