White House Discussed Allowing Stock Gifts to Trump Accounts

White House officials held internal discussions about allowing wealthy donors to contribute appreciated company stock to Trump Accounts. The change would let donors avoid capital gains tax and claim a charitable deduction equal to the shares’ fair market value.

Trump Accounts began this year under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The program provides a $1,000 Treasury seed deposit for each U.S. child born between 2025 and 2028. Parents may add up to $5,000 annually in post-tax dollars. Funds are invested in diversified U.S. equity index funds and can be partially accessed at age 18. Cash contributions are scheduled to open on July 4, 2026. Robinhood has been named the brokerage and initial trustee alongside BNY Mellon.

Under the proposal discussed, transfers of appreciated stock would follow the tax treatment used for charitable gifts of stock. Donors would not pay capital gains tax on the appreciated shares and would be able to take a deduction based on the shares’ market value at the time of the gift.

Internal documents and conversations identify Brad Gerstner, founder of Altimeter Capital, as a leading advocate for permitting stock gifts. Supporters of the idea argue that permitting gifts of highly appreciated founder equity could attract large private contributions because stock gifts can offer both the avoidance of capital gains and an immediate market-value deduction.

Private pledges have already been announced for the program. Michael and Susan Dell committed $6.25 billion in December to seed $250 deposits for roughly 25 million children in lower-income ZIP codes. Additional institutional and corporate commitments at state or employer levels have come from investor firms and companies identified as contributors to the program.

Critics and tax experts have raised concerns about tax advantages flowing largely to wealthy donors. The NYU Tax Law Center described the proposal as “an expansion of philanthropy deductions already used by ultra-wealthy donors,” and noted that allowing stock gifts could extend a tax-advantaged channel available to founders and large shareholders in other charitable situations.

Any change to permit transfers of appreciated equity into Trump Accounts would require new legislation. Treasury and White House officials have not publicly confirmed the internal discussions. Congress would need to approve statutory language to authorize stock transfers into the program and to establish any related tax treatment.