McRae: Trump Up Your Future
By Treasurer David McRae
Tax season has officially begun – the first one since the President’s working families tax cuts became law. There’s a lot packed in there.
For workers, there’s a 15 percent tax cut for those making around $80,000. For families, the Child Tax Credit has been doubled. For seniors, President Trump has largely brought an end to double taxation on your Social Security benefits. If you’re buying an American-made car, you can deduct your auto loan interest. If you’re buying a house, you can deduct your mortgage. Just go down the list and there’s something in there for almost everyone.
But one of the areas I’d love to key in on today will help jumpstart the American dream for thousands of Mississippians. For the first time ever, families with children under the age of 18 can enroll in Trump Savings Accounts. These new, tax-advantaged investment accounts are designed to help families build long-term financial security for their children, not just through college or early adulthood, but potentially all the way into retirement.
Here’s how it works. Complete Form 4547 when you file your taxes. Once that form is submitted, an account is created for your child. Signing up is free and there is no requirement for parents or grandparents to put in their own money.
Once the account is open, the federal government will make a $1,000 start-up investment if your child was born after January 1, 2025. Many families with children under 10 will receive a $250 contribution.
After this, you and your family can sit back and watch the funds grow. According to estimates from the U.S. Treasury, if that initial $1,000 contribution is left to grow over time, it could be worth roughly $243,000 by the time your child reaches age 55. That is without a single additional dollar contributed by you!
For families who are able and choose to add more to the account, the impact grows dramatically. Consider this: If a family contributes the maximum $5,000 per year, the account could grow to $13 million by the time your child turns 55. That kind of long-term compounding has the potential to change not just individual lives, but generational outcomes.
At the end of the day, the Trump Accounts are about something bigger than a reminder to file a tax form. This is about giving Mississippi families a real head start.
Too often, we talk about the American Dream as something you chase later in life. Trump Accounts flip that idea on its head, letting families start building on Day One. For more information, visit trumpaccounts.gov
Mississippi Treasurer David McRae is the 55th Treasurer for the State of Mississippi. In this role, he helps manage the state’s cash flow, oversees College and Career Savings Mississippi, and has returned more than $150 million in unclaimed money to Mississippians. For more information, visit Treasury.MS.gov.
