WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department published guidance this week that turns Trump Accounts from a campaign-season talking point into a workplace benefit: employers may put up to $2,500 a year, tax-free, into a dependent child’s account, and workers may route pretax payroll dollars the same way.
The accounts, created under the Working Families Tax Cuts law, are tax-advantaged savings vehicles for children under 18. Eligible children can receive a $1,000 seed contribution from Treasury. Tuesday’s rules tell companies how to add more on top — including for kids who never qualified for that first $1,000.
“Trump Accounts are giving American families a new way to build wealth from day one,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. The guidance, he said, lets employers contribute up to $2,500 tax-free each year for employees’ dependents and gives employees “the option to contribute pre-tax dollars directly to those accounts.”
What a company has to do
To run a contribution program, an employer must keep a written plan, rely on workers’ self-certification of a child’s age and dependent status while confirming the destination is actually a Trump Account, send employee notices, issue annual statements, and report to the account trustee. Pretax employee contributions would run through a cafeteria plan.
Treasury said more than 50 companies have already pledged contributions. ADP, Chime, Edward Jones, Franklin Templeton, State Street, Vanguard and Visa were among the firms quoted in the department’s release. Vanguard said that beginning in 2027 it would let crew members direct a $1,500 employer contribution to an eligible account. Several asset managers said they would match Treasury’s $1,000 seed for employees’ children.
The take-up question
Political rollout has run ahead of payroll reality. A Mercer survey of nearly 350 U.S. employers in April found only about 4 percent expected to start a contribution program in 2026 or 2027; two-thirds said they would not contribute at all. Advisors have asked how after-tax basis will be tracked, how the accounts compare with 529 plans and Roth IRAs, and whether a conversion path will exist.
The Labor Department has said these programs generally sit outside ERISA, which lowers one compliance hurdle. Other rules — investments, distributions, reporting — are still being written. For a parent, the practical test is whether their employer actually turns the match on, and whether the account is worth using instead of (or besides) a 529 already in place.
Until more companies enroll, the $2,500 cap is a ceiling, not a typical paycheck line. The families who will notice first are those whose employers already promised a match and were waiting for Treasury to say how to send the money.