Trump Accounts: Who Gets $1,000, the Limits and the Rules at 18

A Trump Account is a special type of individual retirement account (IRA), the same tax-advantaged account family as the IRAs adults use, but opened for a child. Congress created Trump Accounts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the 2025 tax law the IRS now calls the Working Families Tax Cuts, by adding a new Section 530A to the tax code. The Treasury Department runs the program, and the IRS handles the tax rules and the elections.

This guide covers the rules as they stand on November 13, 2026, using the IRS Trump Accounts page, IRS Notice 2025-68 and the official trumpaccounts.gov site, and it flags which rules still wait on final IRS regulations.

What Are Trump Accounts and Who Is Eligible?

Trump Accounts are government-created investment accounts for children under 18 that grow tax-deferred until the child reaches adulthood. According to the IRS, a child is eligible if he or she has a valid Social Security number and does not turn 18 before the end of the calendar year in which the account is set up.

Each child can have only one account, which a parent or guardian manages. Robinhood Securities serves as the brokerage provider and initial trustee, and The Bank of New York Mellon acts as Treasury’s financial agent, according to the IRS FAQ.

Who should open one, and who can skip it

• Claim it now: parents of U.S. citizen babies born from 2025 through 2028, because the $1,000 only arrives after you elect it.
• Worth claiming: parents of older kids whose employer, state or a charity is adding money, or whose child received the $250 Dell gift.
• Lower priority: families saving only their own money, since a 529 plan or custodial Roth IRA is often more flexible.

Did Treasury already open an account for my child?

Probably, yes. The IRS confirmed on November 6, 2026 that Treasury automatically enrolled eligible children starting October 1, 2026. Even so, you cannot see the balance or contribute until you claim and activate it.

How Do You Get the $1,000 Trump Account Deposit?

You get the $1,000 by filing Form 4547 and selecting the pilot program option for a qualifying child.

Importantly, the IRS says you must elect the $1,000 even if Treasury opened the account automatically. However, if you already submitted Form 4547 and asked for the deposit, you do not need to file it again.

Question	Answer
Birth dates that qualify	January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2028
Citizenship	Child must be a U.S. citizen
ID needed	Valid Social Security number that matches SSA records
Form	Form 4547, Trump Account Election(s), pilot program box
Where to file	Trump Accounts app, the Trump Accounts website or your IRS Individual Online Account
Filing deadline	Not announced as of November 13, 2026
Kids born before 2025	Can have an account, but no $1,000

How to Open and Claim a Trump Account, Step by Step

Most families now claim an existing account rather than open a new one. Trumpaccounts.gov lists these steps:

1. Gather details. First, have the child’s legal name, Social Security number and date of birth ready.
2. Download the app. Next, get the Trump Accounts app from the Apple App Store or Google Play, or use the Trump Accounts website.
3. Verify yourself. Then confirm your identity and your authority to manage the child’s account.
4. Claim and activate. After that, review the child’s information and accept the account terms.
5. Elect the $1,000. If the child was born from 2025 through 2028, submit Form 4547 with the pilot program option in the app, on the website or in your IRS online account.
6. Add money if you want. Finally, fund it by debit card or ACH bank transfer, which takes several days.

How Much Can You Contribute to Trump Accounts?

Family, friends and employers can put in up to $5,000 per child per year in total. According to IRS Notice 2025-68, that limit applies for 2026 and 2027, and it adjusts for inflation after 2027. Contributions could not start before July 4, 2026, and the first deposits opened on that date.

Money source	Counts toward $5,000?	Tax notes
Parents, relatives, friends	Yes	After-tax; no deduction
Employer (Section 128)	Yes, up to $2,500 per employee	Excluded from the employee’s income
$1,000 federal pilot deposit	No	Taxed when withdrawn
States, local governments, tribes, 501(c)(3) charities	No	Taxed when withdrawn
Rollover from another Trump Account	No	Keeps its original tax basis

Unlike a regular IRA, the child does not need a job or earned income for anyone to contribute. However, two timing rules trip people up. First, a contribution counts for the year it is made, so a January 2027 deposit cannot count toward 2026. Second, there is no tax deduction for what you put in.

Employer contributions to Trump Accounts (proposed rules)

An employer can add up to $2,500 a year tax-free for an employee or the employee’s dependents, according to IRS release IR-2026-90 from August 11, 2026. That employer money still counts inside the $5,000 family limit. Because these are proposed regulations, details could still change. Ask HR whether your company offers a program.

What Do Trump Accounts Invest In, and What Are the Fees?

Trump Accounts can hold only low-cost U.S. stock index funds until the child turns 18. Under the law, an eligible investment is a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF), a fund that trades like a stock, that tracks an index of mostly U.S. companies such as the S&P 500, uses no leverage, and charges no more than 0.1% a year in fees and expenses.

Fund	Ticker	Status
State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF	SPYM	Default fund for all accounts (0.02% expense ratio)
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF	IVV	Announced option, choice not yet available
Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF	VTI	Announced option, choice not yet available
State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 1500 Composite Stock Market ETF	SPTM	Announced option, choice not yet available
iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF	ITOT	Announced option, choice not yet available

For now, every dollar goes into the default S&P 500 fund. Treasury has said parents will be able to pick among the other four funds later, but no launch date was announced as of November 13, 2026. Meanwhile, the IRS issued proposed regulations on eligible investments on August 20, 2026, so those rules are not final yet. As for account fees, trumpaccounts.gov lists none beyond fund costs as of November 13, 2026.

What Happens to Trump Accounts at Age 18?

On January 1 of the year the child turns 18, the special Trump Account rules end and the account generally follows traditional IRA rules. The IRS calls the years before that the growth period; for a child born October 1, 2025, it ends December 31, 2042.

Before 18: money is locked

During the growth period, no regular withdrawals are allowed. The only exits are a rollover to another Trump Account, a qualified rollover to an ABLE account (a tax-advantaged account for people with disabilities), removal of an excess contribution, or the child’s death.

After 18: traditional IRA rules and taxes

• Taxes: withdrawals are ordinary income, except for the part that represents after-tax family contributions (the basis). The $1,000 pilot deposit, employer money and charity money create no basis, so they are fully taxed when withdrawn.
• Early withdrawal penalty: before age 59 and a half, a 10% additional tax may apply unless an exception fits, such as qualified higher education costs or a first home purchase.
• New options: after the growth period, the IRA rules on rollovers and Roth conversions apply, and investment limits fall away.

Note that education or first-home uses avoid only the 10% penalty, not regular income tax.

What Is the Dell $250 Gift, and Who Got It?

Michael and Susan Dell pledged $6.25 billion to add $250 to the Trump Accounts of 25 million children, according to the White House announcement from December 2, 2025. Invest America, the nonprofit handling the gift, says the money was deposited by October 9, 2026.

The final rules differ from the first announcement, which described children age 10 and under in ZIP codes with median incomes below $150,000. According to Invest America, the $250 went to children born from 2016 through 2024 who live in ZIP codes with a median family income of $117,300 or less, plus all eligible children on military bases. There was no separate application.

• Check the balance: you must claim the account in the app to see whether the $250 arrived.
• Foster care: Invest America has reserved funds for children in foster care, with contributions expected next year and details still being set.
• Connecticut: Ray and Barbara Dalio are matching the Dell $250 for Connecticut children, per Invest America.

Trump Account vs 529 vs Custodial Roth IRA

A Trump Account is best for collecting free outside money, a 529 plan is best for college savings, and a custodial Roth IRA is best for a teen with a paying job. A 529 plan is a state-sponsored education savings account, while a custodial Roth IRA is a Roth IRA that an adult manages for a minor who has earned income.

Feature	Trump Account	529 plan	Custodial Roth IRA
Who opens it	Treasury, for any child with an SSN under 18	Any adult, for any beneficiary	Adult custodian, for a minor
Earned income needed	No	No	Yes
Yearly limit	$5,000 (plus exempt money)	No federal yearly cap; gifts above $19,000 may have gift tax consequences	Lesser of $7,500 (2026) or the child’s earned income
Free money	$1,000 for 2025 to 2028 births; possible employer, charity or Dell money	None federal	None
Investments	U.S. stock index funds, 0.1% fee cap	Plan’s fund menu	Broad choice at the broker
Tax on growth	Tax-deferred; taxed at withdrawal	Tax-free for qualified education	Tax-free for qualified withdrawals
Access before 18	No	Yes, for qualified education	Yes, under Roth IRA rules

So which one wins? For college, the IRS notes that 529 earnings are not federally taxed when spent on qualified education, which beats a Trump Account’s taxable withdrawals. Likewise, a custodial Roth IRA gives tax-free growth, but the IRS caps it at the child’s earned income. Therefore, a sensible plan for most families is to claim Trump Accounts for the free money and then send extra savings to a 529.

Common Trump Account Mistakes to Avoid

The biggest mistake is assuming the $1,000 shows up on its own. Watch for these too:

• Skipping Form 4547. Automatic enrollment opens the account, but the $1,000 needs a separate election.
• Never claiming the account. Without claiming it, you cannot see the balance, the Dell $250 or any employer deposits.
• Going over $5,000. Remember that employer money counts inside the family limit.
• Planning to use it for school before 18. The money is locked until January 1 of the year the child turns 18, so use a 529 for earlier costs.
• Treating it as tax-free. Withdrawals of earnings, the $1,000 and employer money are taxable income later.
• Fixing errors the wrong way. Resubmit Form 4547 with corrected details instead of filing an amended tax return.

Also, keep records of your own after-tax contributions, since that basis comes out tax-free later. For broader money planning, see our look at what the latest US economic data means for your money.

Frequently Asked Questions