Login | June 27, 2026
It's Time To Check Out Trump Accounts for Kids
JULIE JASON
Published: June 25, 2026
Trump Accounts are IRAs for kids. They are very new and very much worth checking out.
Established by the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act, which was signed into law on July 4, 2025, an account can be established for a child "who has not reached age 18 by the end of the calendar year in which the election is made and who has a valid Social Security number," according to the IRS (tinyurl.com/4xpb44bt).
To set up an account now, you can download the app at trumpaccounts.gov or sign up at irs.gov/trumpaccounts.
You will need to fill out IRS Form 4547, Trump Account Election(s). The form and its instructions are available at the IRS website About Form 4547, Trump Account Election(s) (tinyurl.com/yvhd48z7). It's important that you review the instructions for Form 4547.
Don't skip this section: Parent/Guardian or Other Authorized Individual, the "responsible party for the Trump account." The instructions point out that "an authorized individual is a legal guardian, parent, adult sibling, or grandparent of the child, in that order of priority."
Keep reading: "By making the election, the authorized individual is representing, under penalties of perjury, that he or she is authorized to open the initial Trump account for the child. For example, if an adult sibling is making the election, they would be representing that there was neither a legal guardian nor parent of the child available to make the election."
Does that mean grandparents cannot open a Trump Account? That seems to be the case. As IRA analyst Ian Berger, JD, of the website IRAhelp.com points out in "Grandparents Should Be Very Careful Before Opening Trump Accounts": "While grandparents will be able to make contributions on behalf of grandchildren to Trump Accounts, IRS rules appear to strictly limit the circumstances where they can open up those accounts" (tinyurl.com/4cvcphbz).
One special element of Trump Accounts deals with children born in 2025, 2026, 2027 or 2028. They will receive a one-time $1,000 deposit from the Department of the Treasury under a pilot program. The children must be U.S. citizens and have a valid Social Security number.
That $1,000 "gift" (which is not taxable until withdrawn) is one very good reason for any parent in this situation to go ahead to set up the account for eligible children.
There is no obligation to continue funding -- although that's a good idea ($5,000 is the maximum contribution per year).
Contributions to the account, other than the one made by the Treasury's pilot program, can be made by the child, the child's parents, grandparents and other people, as well as employers. Review the instructions to see the full list of eligible contributors.
The accounts are capped to an annual contribution limit of $5,000 (not including contributions from the pilot program, qualified general contributions or qualified rollover contributions). After 2027, the limit will be subject to cost-of-living adjustments. Importantly, unlike other IRAs for children (custodial IRAs), contributions are not limited to the child's earned income.
However, Investor.gov states that while a Trump Account "is subject to certain special rules on contributions, investments, distributions, and reporting ... After the child turns 18, most of the special rules no longer apply and traditional IRA rules generally apply" (tinyurl.com/y35k3762).
The "growth period" of the account "starts on the date the Trump account is established and ends on December 31st of the year before the calendar year in which the child turns age 18," according to the instructions.
The account can only use eligible investments, which are described as generally being "a mutual fund or an exchange traded fund (ETF) that tracks an index of primarily U.S. companies and meets certain other requirements."
The trumpaccounts.gov website offers some insights on the potential worth of an account: A person who has an account opened at birth and includes a pilot program $1,000 contribution and yearly contributions of $5,000 could have up to $271,000 at age 18, "based on historical S&P 500 averages."
Trump Accounts are a winner for babies because of the extra government deposit -- and all children under the age of 18 because of the ability to achieve tax-deferred growth. Yes, you do need to learn the rules, but it's worth the effort if you have kids in the eligible age bracket.
Seasoned investment counsel (tinyurl.com/52nus8hz) and award-winning columnist and author, Julie Jason, JD, LLM, promotes financial literacy and investor protection. Read her latest book, "The Discerning Investor: Personal Portfolio Management in Retirement for Lawyers (and Their Clients)" (tinyurl.com/4u7h9pjs), published by the American Bar Association. Write to Julie at readers@juliejason.com. While all questions cannot be answered, each email is read and reviewed and can lead to discussion in a future column.
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