Trump Accounts Explained: Eligibility, the $1,000 Contribution & How to Start
Trump Accounts are a new type of retirement account created for American children. A parent or guardian opens one through an official IRS election; up to $5,000 a year can go in from family, friends and employers combined; and for children who meet separate requirements, the Treasury adds a one-time $1,000.
This is an independent guide written for parents — plain English, official sources, and honest about what is still unsettled.
Independent website. USATrumpAccounts.com is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the U.S. Government, the Department of the Treasury, the IRS, or TrumpAccounts.gov. This is educational information, not personalized financial or tax advice.
The two questions people confuse
Almost every mistake we see traces back to treating these as one question. They are not:
| Can my child have an account? | Does my child get the $1,000? | |
|---|---|---|
| Age | Under 18 | Under 18 |
| Social Security number | Required | Required |
| U.S. citizenship | Not the deciding factor | Required |
| Birth window | None | Jan 1, 2025 – Dec 31, 2028 |
| Automatic? | No — must be elected | No — must be elected |
A child can be perfectly eligible for an account and still not qualify for the $1,000. See the full eligibility breakdown →
Start with your question
Who qualifies?
Age and Social Security number rules for the account, the separate citizenship and birth-year rules for the $1,000, and worked examples.
How do I open one?
Form 4547, the three ways to file it, and the step most people miss — filing the election is not the same as the account being funded.
How much can we put in?
The $5,000 cap is per child, not per person — which catches families out when grandparents and employers contribute without coordinating.
How does it work?
The growth period, why investments are restricted to low-cost index funds, and what changes when your child turns 18.
The numbers that matter
Five mistakes worth avoiding
- Assuming the $1,000 is automatic. It has to be explicitly elected on Form 4547, and the child must meet separate requirements.
- Thinking the form opens the account. Filing reserves the election. The account is live only after Treasury activation.
- Treating $5,000 as a per-person allowance. One parent contributing $3,000 leaves $2,000 for everyone else — including grandparents and employers.
- Waiting until April. The deadline is December 31, unlike a regular IRA.
- Entering a child’s SSN on a non-government site. Only official IRS systems should ever receive it — never here, never anywhere else.
We explain. The government handles the account.
That is the whole philosophy of this site. We do not open accounts, process applications, charge fees, or collect personal information. There is no form here that captures your child’s details, and there never will be.
What we do is read the official material — IRS guidance, Form 4547 instructions, Treasury announcements, published regulations — and turn it into something a parent can actually act on. Every page is dated, because this program is new and guidance keeps arriving. Where something is genuinely unsettled, we say so rather than guessing confidently.
More on our standards in the Editorial Policy, and the full list of what we rely on in Sources.
Common questions
Is this the official Trump Accounts website?
Does it cost anything to open an account?
Can my child get the $1,000 if they were born in 2023?
Can I take money out if we need it?
Last reviewed: September 28, 2026