Trump Account Planner: Eligibility and Growth Illustration
1. Is your child eligible?
2. Plan the contributions
The $5,000 cap applies through the calendar year before the child turns 18, so a newborn can have up to 18 contribution years.
No more deposits are assumed after the contribution years end. Money cannot be withdrawn before January 1 of the year the child turns 18.
An illustration, not a forecast. Stock funds can lose money in any year and real returns are never smooth.
Same plan, different return assumptions
| Yearly return | Balance | In today's dollars |
|---|
The 0% row is just the money put in. The gap between rows shows how much of any projection is an assumption rather than a fact.
The rules this planner uses
- Yearly cap: $5,000 per child. Employer contributions count toward it (an employer can add up to $2,500 per employee, tax-free to the employee). The $1,000 Treasury pilot deposit and qualified general contributions from governments or charities do not count. The cap is inflation-adjusted after 2027; this planner keeps $5,000.
- Start date: contributions could begin July 4, 2026. Parents or guardians opt in with IRS Form 4547.
- Pilot deposit: a one-time $1,000 for each eligible U.S.-citizen child born January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2028 whose family makes the election.
- Investments: until the child turns 18, funds must be in low-cost index funds (such as an S&P 500 fund) with annual expenses of 0.1% or less.
- After 18: the account is generally treated like a traditional IRA, so withdrawals follow IRA tax rules.
Rules last verified: October 9, 2026, against 26 U.S.C. § 530A, IRS news release IR-2025-117 (Notice 2025-68) and the Treasury Trump Accounts announcement of May 28, 2026. Proposed IRS regulations on employer contributions were still not final when checked.
Educational illustration, not financial or tax advice, and not a promise of any return. It assumes a fixed yearly return, deposits at the end of each year and the pilot deposit at the start. It ignores fees beyond the return you enter, taxes, the inflation adjustment to the cap, and any change in the law. Check the official rules at Treasury and the IRS before you decide.
Check whether a child is eligible for a Trump Account and the $1,000 Treasury pilot deposit, then see a transparent growth illustration under low, medium and high return assumptions, with the $5,000 yearly cap built in.
How it works
- Enter the child's birth year to see whether an account can be opened and whether the $1,000 pilot deposit applies
- Set how much you will contribute each year, for how many years, and an assumed return
- Read the balance at your chosen age, how much is deposits versus assumed growth, and the same plan at 0%, 3%, 6% and 9%
Frequently asked questions
Who gets the $1,000 Treasury pilot deposit?
Per IRS news release IR-2025-117 (Notice 2025-68), the federal government makes a one-time $1,000 pilot contribution for each eligible child, a U.S. citizen born from January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2028, for whom an election is made. A parent or guardian makes the election on IRS Form 4547.
What is the yearly contribution limit?
$5,000 per year per child before the child turns 18, adjusted for inflation for years after 2027 (26 U.S.C. 530A). Employer contributions of up to $2,500 per employee count toward that limit. The $1,000 pilot deposit and qualified general contributions from governments and charities do not count.
When can money be withdrawn?
Not before January 1 of the calendar year in which the beneficiary turns 18 (26 U.S.C. 530A). After that the account is generally treated like a traditional IRA, so IRA tax rules apply to withdrawals.
How are the funds invested?
Until the beneficiary turns 18, the statute limits investments to mutual funds or ETFs that track a qualified index such as the S&P 500, without leverage and with annual fees and expenses of 0.1% or less.
Is the growth shown a prediction?
No. It is arithmetic on a fixed yearly return you choose, so the table shows 0%, 3%, 6% and 9% side by side. Real stock returns vary every year and can be negative. The planner also keeps the $5,000 cap fixed even though it is indexed after 2027.
Where are the official rules?
Treasury Trump Accounts announcement of May 28, 2026 (home.treasury.gov), IRS news release IR-2025-117, and 26 U.S.C. 530A. Employer-contribution regulations were still proposed when this page was last checked.
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Update history
- 2026-10-09 Launched: Trump Account eligibility check and a transparent growth illustration with the $5,000 cap and $1,000 pilot deposit.