Trump launches tax-deferred investment accounts for children with $1,000 seed

Families began opening Trump Accounts on July 6, with the federal government seeding each eligible child’s account with $1,000 and giving parents a new tax-deferred place to save for the future. The rollout turns a major tax and spending law passed by Congress last year into a household product that will reach only children born after December 31, 2024 and before January 1, 2029.

The Internal Revenue Service says Trump Accounts are a new savings tool created under the One Big Beautiful Bill, and Treasury guidance treats them as a type of IRA for eligible children. The Treasury Department and IRS issued formal guidance on December 2, 2025, and the rules apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025. To open an account, adults need an ID.me account, the child’s Social Security number, date of birth, and address.

The account design favors families that can keep adding money. Parents may contribute up to $5,000 a year initially, employers may contribute up to $2,500 per employee each year tax-free, and other contributors can also add funds. The White House has cast the program as a long-term financial head start for children, but the federal seed alone is modest compared with the balances possible under sustained contributions.

The Council of Economic Advisers estimated that a baby born in 2026 could have about $303,800 by age 18 if the account receives maximum contributions and grows at average stock-market returns. Under the same assumptions, the balance could reach about $1.09 million by age 28. Without additional deposits, the same account would grow to about $5,800 by age 18 and about $18,100 by age 28, a gap that shows how much of the promised benefit depends on households, employers, and outside donors rather than the initial federal deposit.

Private-sector backing has already pushed the program beyond Washington. Michael and Susan Dell pledged $6.25 billion to add $250 to Trump Accounts for 25 million children age 10 and younger. Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase also said they would make matching $1,000 contributions for employees who open accounts for their children, adding corporate incentives to a law that now runs through the tax code and the Treasury’s filing rules.