The Savings Game: How ‘Trump accounts’ will work
Q: What are the changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) signed into law in July that will benefit children?
A. The OBBBA established tax-advantaged investment accounts for children, known as “Trump accounts,” that are structured similarly to traditional (non-Roth) IRA accounts. For U.S. citizens born after January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2028 and who have a Social Security number, the federal government will deposit $1,000 in each account.
No contribution will be made before July 4, 2026, even for children born in 2025, and earlier in 2026. This will give the Treasury Department time to develop rules for parents to initiate these accounts and about how these accounts will be established.
Children born before January 1, 2025, can get a Trump account, but they will not get the federal contribution. Parents, or any other person, may contribute to a child’s Trump account. Total annual contributions on behalf of one child cannot exceed $5,000, indexed for inflation starting in 2028. No contribution will be allowed before July 4, 2026. (Parts or all of the $5,000 annual contribution may also be made by the parents’ employers without adding to the parents’ taxable income. No single employer can contribute more than $2,500 per year to a single account.)