A simple page so relatives can give to a child's Trump Account

A Trump Account is a tax-deferred investment account for a child.

The IRS describes it as a new kind of traditional IRA, with extra rules while the child is young. Growth is not taxed each year while it stays in the account. A child can have one even if they do not qualify for the $1,000 Treasury deposit.

The child owns the Trump Account. A parent or legal guardian manages it until the child is 18.

Only one Trump Account is allowed for each child. The first eligible adult to finish claiming it becomes the responsible party. At 18, the child takes over, and that adult no longer has access.

Gifts are invested automatically, usually within one business day, in a fund that tracks the S&P 500.

Right now that fund is SPYM. Families cannot pick a different investment yet. The program says more choices are expected later. The IRS requires the money to be in a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund that tracks the S&P 500 or another index made up mostly of American companies.

There is no fee to open the account, keep it, or add money. The fund's own fee cannot be more than 0.1% of the balance a year.

The program says that fund fee is part of the fund's price. It does not show up as a separate bill. Every dollar a family contributes goes into the account.

Parents, family, friends, and the child can all contribute.

The program says anyone can contribute to a claimed account, up to the shared yearly cap. The child does not need earned income for those childhood contributions. Employers, charities, and state or local governments can also contribute under their own rules.

In 2026, ordinary contributions to one child's Trump Account share a $5,000 cap.

The child, parents, relatives, friends, and an employer all draw from that same $5,000. An employer can contribute up to $2,500 a year for an employee, across all of that employee's children, and those dollars count toward each child's $5,000. The IRS says the employer amount is not included in the employee's taxable income, and that the yearly limits adjust for inflation after 2027. As of this review, the program's contributions page still says employer contributions are coming soon.

The $1,000 Treasury deposit does not count toward the $5,000, and neither do qualified gifts from a charity or a government.

A rollover from the child's other Trump Account is also outside the yearly cap. A gift from a person counts.

The $5,000 childhood cap runs through December 31 of the year the child turns 17.

The IRS instructions and the program site agree on that date. A child born on October 1, 2025, for example, reaches the last day of that period on December 31, 2042. The program site says no new contributions are taken after that date until the child turns 18. The IRS says ordinary traditional IRA rules begin on January 1 of the year the child turns 18, which can be earlier than the birthday. Those two descriptions leave a gap we are not filling in.

Treasury will not ask for your password or a one-time code by email, text, or phone.

The program says the first activation email comes only from no-reply@trumpaccounts.treasury.gov. Later messages come in the official app, or from an address ending in @trumpaccount.com. Another program page says real notices come from trumpaccount.com, the official app, or an email from trumpaccounts.treasury.gov. The card-linking steps also say not to share the 6-digit verification code. The IRS help line is 866-USA-4547.

The money is held in a trust account with a registered trustee, and trades clear through DTCC.

The program says a dedicated trust holds the account, with a federal record keeper and a banking partner, and that securities transactions clear through the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC). The IRS says Treasury designated The Bank of New York Mellon as the financial agent, and Robinhood Securities LLC as the brokerage provider and initial trustee. Before a parent claims the account, Treasury's agent holds it as trustee.

SIPC protection applies up to $500,000. It does not cover a drop in the market.

The program states that limit for the child's investments and points families to sipc.org. SIPC's own page says the protection limit is $500,000, which includes up to $250,000 for cash, when assets are missing at a failed member brokerage. SIPC does not protect the value of the investments, and it is not FDIC insurance.

The U.S. government does not guarantee this investment. The balance can fall.

The program says contributions are invested in the market, and the value moves with that market from the day the money arrives. A balance that is higher or lower than the amount deposited can be ordinary market movement.

Some children can receive a one-time $1,000 from the U.S. Treasury.

The child must be a U.S. citizen, born from January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2028, with a valid Social Security number. Opening the account does not include this deposit. A parent still has to elect it on IRS Form 4547, and Treasury says the account has to be claimed before the deposit can be received. It does not count toward the $5,000. A child born in another year does not get this deposit and can still have a Trump Account.

The child generally cannot take the money out while the childhood rules apply, and those rules end by age 18.

The IRS says amounts generally cannot be withdrawn before January 1 of the year the child turns 18. After that date, the account follows ordinary traditional IRA rules. The program website says the money stays unavailable until the child turns 18, and that the account becomes a traditional IRA in the child's name then. January 1 of that year and the birthday are not always the same day, so this does not name one unlock date. The child owns the account the whole time.

A personal gift is not an income-tax deduction. Growth is taxed when money comes out, not each year.

During the childhood period, the IRS does not allow an IRA deduction for a contribution. Money a person puts in becomes the child's basis, so that part is not taxed again on the way out. The $1,000 deposit, employer contributions, and charity or government gifts do not become basis. Those amounts, and the earnings, are taxed as ordinary income when they are withdrawn. If earnings come out before age 59½, the IRS can add a 10% tax. Once ordinary IRA rules apply, that extra 10% does not apply to qualified higher-education expenses, or to a qualified first-home purchase of up to $10,000. Income tax can still apply. This is a plain summary, not tax advice.

Treasury finished automatic enrollment on October 1, 2026. A parent claims the account before anyone can manage it or contribute.

Treasury says every eligible child under 18 with a valid Social Security number has an account ready to claim. Claim it in the Trump Accounts app or on the Trump Accounts website. You verify your identity, confirm you are the parent or guardian, and accept the terms. There is no deadline to claim, and the account stays invested in the meantime. Form 4547 is not required just to claim an account Treasury already opened. Use it to request the $1,000, or to ask for an account if your child does not already have one. You can file it in the app, on the Trump Accounts website, or in your IRS individual account. The IRS help line is 866-USA-4547.