Trump Accounts: What They Are and Who Can Open One

Accurate as of September 2026. Rules and program details can change; check trumpaccounts.gov and irs.gov/trumpaccounts for the current status.

Trump Accounts are new tax-advantaged investment accounts for children. A parent, guardian, or other authorized person can elect to open one through the IRS using Form 4547. The account is for a child who has a valid Social Security number and has not turned 18 before the end of the calendar year in which the election is made. Only U.S. citizen children born Jan. 1, 2025 through Dec. 31, 2028 qualify for the one-time $1,000 federal pilot contribution. Families do not have to contribute; contributions could not be made before July 4, 2026, and regular contributions have been allowed since that date.

Key rules for contributions

The regular contribution limit is $5,000 per child per year, total across family, friends, the child, and employer contributions. It is not $5,000 per donor. That limit is indexed for inflation after 2027. The federal $1,000 pilot contribution does not count against the $5,000 limit, and qualified government/nonprofit “general contributions” also do not count against that limit.

The child does not need earned income for contributions during the “growth period,” which is different from a normal IRA rule. Family/friend contributions are treated as non-deductible contributions that create basis in the account. Employer contributions can be excluded from the employee’s income up to $2,500 per employee per year, but those employer contributions count toward the account’s $5,000 annual cap.

There is no stated maximum account value; the cap is on annual contributions. Investment growth can push the account above the annual contribution amounts.

Who gets the $1,000?

The $1,000 Treasury contribution is only for eligible children who are U.S. citizens, have a Social Security number, are born in 2025, 2026, 2027, or 2028, and for whom the proper election/request is made. Older children can generally have a Trump Account if eligible, but they do not get the $1,000 pilot contribution unless they are in that birth-year window.

How to open one

Families should use the official IRS process, not random online links. The IRS says to sign in or create an IRS account, complete Form 4547, and provide the child’s Social Security number, date of birth, and address. The IRS page says the process should take about 5–10 minutes.

Which financial institution has it?

Yes, Robinhood is involved, but the cleaner explanation is: BNY is Treasury’s financial agent, and Robinhood is the brokerage and initial trustee working with BNY. Treasury has described the Trump Accounts app as a custom product built for Treasury, with Treasury retaining control over the app and initial account operations. So families should think of this as an official Treasury/IRS program supported by BNY and Robinhood, not simply a normal Robinhood account they open inside their regular brokerage app.

How the money is invested

During the growth period, investments are limited to broad U.S. stock index mutual funds or ETFs, such as funds tracking the S&P 500 or another primarily U.S. equity index. The investment generally must avoid leverage and have annual fees/expenses of no more than 0.10%.

When the child can use the money

Generally, no distributions are allowed before the year the child turns 18, except for limited cases such as rollovers, excess contributions, ABLE rollover rules, or death. Starting January 1 of the year the child turns 18, the account is generally subject to traditional IRA distribution rules, including potential ordinary income tax and possibly a 10% early-distribution penalty unless an exception applies, such as qualified higher education expenses, first-time home purchase rules, or distributions after age 59½.

Gift-tax point for grandparents and family

The IRS issued a safe harbor: many individual donors will not need to file a gift-tax return for Trump Account contributions if the conditions are met. For 2026, one key condition is that the donor’s total gifts to that child, including the Trump Account contribution, do not exceed the $19,000 annual exclusion. This matters for grandparents who are also making other gifts to the same child.

Before you act: a quick checklist for families

• Confirm the child’s age, citizenship, and Social Security number.
• If the child was born from 2025 through 2028 and is a U.S. citizen, make sure the IRS election (Form 4547) requesting the $1,000 federal pilot contribution has been filed.
• Contributions from everyone combined (parents, grandparents, other family, and any employer program) are limited to $5,000 per child per year, so coordinate with other contributors to avoid overfunding the account.
• This is a long-term investment/retirement-style account for the child, not a short-term savings account.

A Trump Account can supplement 529 plans, custodial accounts, and Roth IRAs for working children rather than automatically replace them. The $1,000 federal contribution for eligible newborns is the simplest benefit; whether to add more money depends on the family’s education, cash-flow, tax, and estate planning goals.