Trump Accounts: How to Claim Your Child's $1,000 (2026 Update)

In July 2025, Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which created a new federal savings program for kids — informally called Trump Accounts. The program seeds a $1,000 federal deposit for every eligible American child born between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2028, and lets parents, family, and employers contribute on top of it.

Parents claim the account, and the federal match, in the official Trump Accounts app or at trumpaccounts.gov, which files the Form 4547 election for you. Private contributions opened on July 4, 2026.

Here's what every parent of a 2025-or-later child needs to know — eligibility, the claim mechanism, the contribution rules, how withdrawals are actually taxed, and how Trump Accounts fit alongside the UTMA, 529, and custodial Roth IRA you may already have.

What is a Trump Account?

A Trump Account is a tax-deferred investment account created under Section 530A of the tax code. Think of it as the federal government giving every eligible newborn a $1,000 head start on long-term saving — held in a low-cost index portfolio at an approved custodian, growing tax-deferred until the kid turns 18.

The mechanics, in plain English:

• The Treasury deposits a one-time $1,000 "newborn match" into the account once the parent files the Trump Account election.
• Money is invested in a low-cost, broad-market index option — similar to a target-date or all-stock fund in a 401(k).
• Parents, family, and employers can contribute up to $5,000 per year total (the cap covers everyone combined, not per-contributor).
• Employer contributions up to $2,500/year per employee's child are excluded from the employee's gross income, but count toward the $5,000 annual cap.
• The federal $1,000 newborn match does not count toward the $5,000 cap.
• Investments grow tax-deferred until withdrawal.
• At age 18, the account converts to a traditional IRA in the child's name.
• Withdrawals after that are taxed as ordinary income (just like any traditional IRA).
• The annual contribution cap is indexed to inflation starting after 2027.

Who's eligible for the $1,000 federal match?

Two different questions get mixed up here. Having a Trump Account is open to children under 18 with a Social Security number, and in fall 2026 the Treasury opened one automatically for most of them. Getting the $1,000 is narrower. To qualify for the federal newborn match, your child must:

• Be a U.S. citizen with a valid Social Security number.
• Be born between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2028 (the pilot program window).
• Have an authorized parent or guardian make the Trump Account election on their behalf.

Children born before January 1, 2025 are not eligible for the federal match. They can still have a Trump Account and receive family and employer contributions. Many children born from 2016 through 2024 also received a one-time $250 from the Dell pledge, deposited automatically for kids living in ZIP codes below an income threshold; claim the account to see it. Our guide to kids investing programs has the details.

How to claim the $1,000 — the actual process

The federal $1,000 newborn match isn't automatic, even if the Treasury already opened an account for your child. You have to claim the account and make the election. The process as of October 2026:

1. Open the official Trump Accounts app or trumpaccounts.gov. Starting the claim also shows whether the Treasury already opened an account for your child.
2. Verify your identity and your relationship to the child, review the child's information, and accept the account terms. If two adults try to claim the same account, the first to finish gets control.
3. Make the $1,000 election if your child is a U.S. citizen born from 2025 through 2028. The app files Form 4547 for you as part of the claim. You can also file Form 4547 with a federal tax return.
4. Add your other children under the same login.

You don't choose a custodian up front. The Treasury picked BNY as its financial agent and Robinhood as the brokerage and initial trustee, and you manage the account through the official Trump Accounts platform without opening a separate Robinhood account. Whether and when you can move the account to another firm is something to check at trumpaccounts.gov.

When can I actually contribute?

The federal $1,000 match lands as soon as the account is open. Private contributions — your own deposits, grandparent gifts, employer payroll contributions — opened on July 4, 2026.

2026 contributions have a December 31 deadline. That is separate from the claim deadline above, which runs to the year your child turns 17. If you want to use this year's $5,000 room, it has to be in by the end of the year.

Check your employer benefits before you max it out. Some businesses now offer Trump Account contributions as a benefit, either as a direct deposit or through paycheck deferrals. Both count toward the same $5,000 annual cap, so a parent who contributes the full amount themselves can end up over the limit once the employer's share lands.

At $50 a month from age 1 to 18, the contributions themselves come to $10,200. What that grows to depends entirely on returns, which are not guaranteed, and any figure here would be an illustration rather than a forecast.

How withdrawals are taxed

This is the part a lot of early reporting got wrong — and the part most parents misunderstand.

At age 18, your child's Trump Account converts to a traditional IRA. That means:

• Withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income — not at long-term capital gains rates.
• Pre-59½ withdrawals carry the standard 10% early-withdrawal penalty plus income tax, with the usual exceptions:
  • First-time home purchase: up to $10,000 penalty-free
  • Qualified higher-education expenses: penalty-free
  • Birth or adoption expenses: up to $5,000
  • Permanent disability, certain medical expenses, etc.
• Withdrawals before January 1 of the year the child turns 18 are not allowed at all.
• The account's basis (the after-tax contributions + the $1,000 match) is not taxed again. The growth above basis is what's ordinary income on withdrawal.

So while the federal seed is tax-free money going in, the account's tax treatment on the way out looks much more like a traditional IRA than a Roth IRA or a 529. This is important context when deciding how aggressively to contribute on top of the seed.

Trump Account vs. UTMA vs. 529 vs. Roth IRA

Trump Accounts don't replace the accounts you may already have for your child. They stack alongside them. Here's how they actually compare:

For most families with a 2025+ child, the right answer is not "pick one." It's:

• Open the Trump Account to capture the federal $1,000 match (free money is free money).
• Add a 529 for college savings (state tax deduction).
• Open a custodial Roth IRA the moment your kid has earned income.
• Optionally a UTMA for general gifting from grandparents.

Each one optimizes for a different future. See our 529 vs. Roth IRA deep-dive for the decision framework on the two most common picks.

How MemoryBank tracks it

The painful part of having multiple accounts for one kid is exactly that — they're spread across multiple institutions, each with its own login, statement format, and app. A 529 at Vanguard, a UTMA at Schwab, a Trump Account in the Treasury's app, a Roth IRA at Schwab. Four logins, four statements. None of it visible to the kid who actually owns the money.

MemoryBank connects to all of them through a single, read-only secure connection (covering most major banks and brokerages) and shows your child their portfolio in one place — Trump Account included as soon as it can be connected. Live balances, growth charts, age-appropriate stories about what each holding actually is, and savings goals tied to real account values.

Crucially, MemoryBank is display-only. We can never trade, move money, or modify any account. Your custodian still owns the relationship; we just turn the data into something a kid wants to look at.

What to do this week

For any child under 18, and especially one born in 2025 or later:

1. Claim your child's account in the official Trump Accounts app or at trumpaccounts.gov; the Treasury may already have opened one.
2. If your child was born from 2025 through 2028, make the $1,000 election as part of the claim.
3. If your child was born from 2016 through 2024, check the balance for a Dell $250 deposit.
4. Check whether your employer offers Trump Account contributions, and how much, before deciding what to put in yourself.
5. Set up a contribution for this year. The 2026 window closes December 31.
6. Connect the account in MemoryBank so your kid can watch it grow alongside their other accounts.

Frequently asked questions

Who is eligible for a Trump Account?

Children under 18 with a Social Security number can have a Trump Account, and in fall 2026 the Treasury opened one automatically for most of them. The one-time $1,000 federal deposit is only for U.S.-citizen children born between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2028, and only after a parent claims the account and makes the election.

What is the deadline to claim the $1,000 federal seed?

Under the IRS's proposed rules, the election can be made up to December 31 of the year the child turns 17 — but the longer you wait, the less time the money has to compound. Most parents now claim in the official Trump Accounts app or at trumpaccounts.gov, which files Form 4547 for you.

When can I start contributing to my child's Trump Account?

Private contributions opened on July 4, 2026. Contributions for 2026 must be made by December 31, 2026, and the $5,000 annual cap covers everyone combined, including up to $2,500 from an employer.

How much can be contributed to a Trump Account each year?

$5,000 per year total across all contributors in 2026 (indexed to inflation starting after 2027). An employer can contribute up to $2,500 per year to an employee's child's account, which counts toward the same $5,000 cap. The $1,000 federal newborn match does not count toward this limit.

How are Trump Account withdrawals taxed?

At age 18, the Trump Account converts to a traditional IRA. Withdrawals are then taxed as ordinary income — not at long-term capital gains rates. Pre-59½ withdrawals carry the standard 10% IRA early-withdrawal penalty plus income tax, with the usual exceptions for first-time home purchase (up to $10,000) and qualified education expenses.

How does a Trump Account compare to a Roth IRA for kids?

Trump Accounts are tax-deferred (convert to a traditional IRA at 18, withdrawals taxed as ordinary income). Custodial Roth IRAs are tax-free (post-tax contributions, qualified withdrawals tax-free). Roth IRAs require the kid to have earned income; Trump Accounts don't. Many families with a kid earning real income end up running both — the Trump Account for the federal seed and tax-deferred growth, the Roth IRA for tax-free compounding on earned income.

Can children born before 2025 open a Trump Account?

Yes. Children under 18 with a Social Security number can have a Trump Account, and the Treasury opened accounts automatically for most of them in fall 2026; a parent claims it to manage it and add money. Children born before January 1, 2025 don't get the $1,000 federal deposit, but many born 2016 through 2024 received $250 from the Dell pledge.

The bottom line

The Trump Account program is the first time the federal government has seeded a tax-advantaged investment account for every American child at birth. The $1,000 isn't enormous, but compounded over 18 years at typical market returns it's closer to $3,000–$4,000 — and that's before any contributions you add on top.

The deadline isn't as tight as some early reporting made it sound — you have until your child turns 17. But the earlier you claim, the more compound growth you capture. Once you've claimed it, the next job is making sure your kid actually sees it growing, alongside the rest of their accounts. That part is exactly what MemoryBank was built for.

Note: This article reflects IRS guidance and Treasury program details as of October 2026, including proposed regulations that aren't final. Specific dollar amounts, deadlines, and custodian rules may change as final regulations land. Always verify with trumpaccounts.gov or a licensed financial advisor before making decisions for your family.