Treasury to create Trump Accounts for millions of eligible children — here is how to claim them

The Treasury Department and the IRS are moving to automatically create Trump Accounts for millions of eligible children in the United States. 

Auto-enrolled in Trump Accounts

Dig deeper:

The Treasury will be able to create an account for eligible children without their parent or other authorized person’s consent. 

The rules call for auto accounts to be created for children who do not already have Trump Accounts. 

The Treasury said the new system will broaden participation while simultaneously protecting taxpayer information. 

Under the new structure, the Treasury will establish a separate account for each eligible child it identifies using authorized government information.

Assets associated with automatically created accounts will be invested collectively through a master group trust, while separate records will be maintained for each child's account.

By the numbers:

The department estimates the regulations will affect roughly 73 million children in about 44 million families and result in more than 60 million additional children having Trump Accounts in 2026.

Auto-enrollment does not mean automatic $1000

The distinction between automatic account creation and the government's $1,000 contribution is significant. 

Automatic enrollment alone does not qualify a child for the federal payment.

Why you should care:

The $1,000 pilot program applies to qualifying children born from 2025 through 2028, but an eligible person must separately make the required election for a child to receive the government contribution.

Parents and guardians will also need to claim an automatically established account before it can receive other permitted contributions from sources such as family members or employers. 

A person seeking to claim an account must authenticate their identity, demonstrate legal authority to act on behalf of the child and provide required information to the Treasury.

How to claim your account

What you can do:

To claim your account, you must download the official Trump Accounts app, according to the Trump Accounts website. 

During the process, you will verify your own identity, as well as the child, and confirm your relationship with the child. 

Once the account is claimed, and your child is eligible, you can claim the one-time $1,000 seed contribution from the Treasury. 

Trump Accounts

The backstory:

The Trump Accounts were officially launched on July 4.

These special investment accounts can be opened by parents of children who were born during President Donald Trump’s second term. Those children will be eligible to receive the $1,000 bonus. 

That money — and anything else deposited by employers, philanthropies and relatives — is invested in the stock market by private firms. Children can’t access the money until they turn 18, and then only for specific purposes, like paying for a home or school.