A Trump account is a type of traditional individual retirement account (IRA) established by an authorized individual for the exclusive benefit of a child. In order for the child to qualify to receive the $1000 pilot program contribution to their Trump account, the child must meet additional requirements.
Although a Trump account is a type of traditional IRA, during the growth period, a Trump account is subject to special rules that don’t apply to other IRAs. During the growth period, a Trump account is subject to special rules that do not apply to other IRAs. During this period, Trump accounts can receive contributions from several different sources, including employer contributions. All Trump accounts must have a trustee, and the trustee must either be a bank or another person approved by the IRS to be a nonbank trustee of a Trump account.
Growth Period
The growth period for a Trump account starts on the date the Trump account is established and ends on December 31 of the year before the calendar year in which the child turns 18. For example, a child is born October 1, 2025 would turn 18 on October 1, 2043. The last day of the growth period would be December 31, 2042.
During the growth period, a subsequent Trump account (rollover Trump account) can be established for a child. The rollover must be funded by a trustee-to-trustee transfer of the entire balance from the child’s existing Trump account (qualified rollover contribution).
Special rules during the growth period
- A Trump account can only be invested in eligible investments.
- A Trump account has a separate contribution limit from other IRAs.
- No deduction is allowed by an individual under section 219 for contributions to a Trump account.
- A Trump account generally restricts distributions from the account.
After the growth period ends, most of these special rules no longer apply and the rules governing traditional IRAs generally apply.
Authorized Individual
An authorized individual may elect to establish an initial Trump account for a child by completing Form 4547.
Elections can be made online beginning in the middle of 2026.
Authorized individual to open an initial Trump account
If the only election being made is to open an initial Trump account, an authorized individual is a:
- Legal guardian
- Parent
- Adult sibling
- Grandparent
(in that order of priority).
If more than one person qualifies, any authorized individual may make the election if no prior election has been made for the child.
The authorized individual must enter their information on Form 4547 Part I and complete Parts II and IV.
By making the election, the authorized individual is representing under penalties of perjury that they are authorized to open the initial Trump account for the child.
Authorized Individual
After the election is made, the Treasury Department (or its agent) will send information to the authorized individual to activate the account. The activation will require an authentication process, after which the authorized individual can complete the opening of the initial Trump account. This information will begin being sent starting in May 2026.
The authorized individual who made the election and whose information appears in Form 4547, Part I will be the responsible party for the initial Trump account of the child(ren) listed in Form 4547, Part II, while the child is a minor. The responsible party may generally:
- Select eligible investments
- Request a transfer for a qualified rollover contribution to a rollover Trump account
- Request a transfer for a qualified ABLE rollover contribution to an ABLE account of the child at age 17
- Select someone to take over their responsibilities as the responsible pat (a successor responsible party for the account).
Contributions
During the growth period, there are generally five types of contributions that can be made to a Trump account. The types of contributions are:
- Pilot program contributions from the U.S. Treasury of $1,000 per child – see Pilot Program Contribution Election, later
- Qualified general contributions (funded by states (or political subdivisions thereof), the United States, the District of Columbia, Indian tribal governments, or section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations) for members of a qualified class of account beneficiaries
- Employer contributions that are not includible in the gross income of the employee under Section 128 (section 128 employer contributions)
- Qualified rollover contributions (which are transfers to a rollover Trump account of the entire amount of the child’s prior Trump account)
- Contributions from other sources (such as the child, the child’s parents, or any other person)
Contributions cannot be made to a Trump account before July 4, 2026.
Taxation of contributions
Contributions to a Trump account during the growth period are not includible in income by the account beneficiary when made. Pilot program contributions, qualified general contributions, and section 128 employer contributions do not create basis in a Trump account. Qualified rollover contributions are transfers from a prior Trump account and carry over any basis attributable to the funds being transferred. Contributions from other sources during the growth period create basis in the Trump account. See Pub. 590-B regarding the taxation of distributions from a traditional IRA (including the treatment of basis).
Aggregate annual limitation
During the growth period, contributions may be made to a Trump account even if the child doesn’t have compensation that is included in their income. Contributions from the pilot program, qualified general contributions, or qualified rollover contributions are not subject to an annual contribution limit. However, the total of all other contributions (including section 128 employer contributions) during the growth period are subject to an annual limit of $5,000 (subject to cost-of-living adjustments after 2027).
Pilot Program Contribution Election
An authorized individual can make an election for a $1,000 pilot program contribution to be made to a Trump account for a child, who:
- Is anticipated to be the qualifying child of the authorized individual for the year in which the election is made (see Pub. 501 for further information regarding qualifying child status);
- Is born after December 31, 2024, and before January 1, 2029;
- Has not had a prior pilot program contribution election processed for them;
- Is a U.S. citizen; and
- Has an SSN. See Valid social security number (SSN), earlier.
The election must be made on Form 4547. For more information, including whether you can make these elections online beginning in the middle of 2026, go to trumpaccounts.gov. If your child is not eligible for a pilot program contribution, the election to open an initial Trump account must still be made on Form 4547 or, beginning in the middle of 2026, online.
Timing of pilot program contribution
The Treasury Department will make the pilot program contribution as soon as practicable after the election is made and the Treasury Department can confirm with the initial Trump account trustee that the initial Trump account has been opened. However, no pilot program contribution will be deposited in the Trump account of a child earlier than July 4, 2026.
Section 128 Employer Contributions
Section 128 employer contributions to a Trump account can be made to the employer’s Trump account or a Trump account of a dependent of the employee. During the growth period, section 128 employer contributions are subject to a $2,500 limit (subject to cost-of-living adjustments after 2027). Section 128 employer contributions plus contributions from other sources (other than pilot program contribution, qualified general contributions, and qualified rollover contributions) are subject to a $5,000 annual limit.
Eligible Investments
During the growth period, a Trump account can only be invested in eligible investments. An eligible investment, generally, is a mutual fund or an exchange traded fund (ETF) that tracks an index of primary U.S. companies and meets certain other requirements.
Distributions
During the growth period, the only distributions that can be made from a Trump account are qualified rollover contributions to a rollover Trump account, qualified ABLE rollover contributions to an ABLE account of the account beneficiary, distributions upon death of the account beneficiary, and distributions upon the starting January 1st of the calendar year in which the child turns 18, most of the rules that apply to traditional IRAs will generally apply to the Trump account.
When to File
Form 4547 can be filed any time, including at the same time as the income tax return is filed. For more information, including whether you can make these elections online beginning in the middle of 2026, go to trumpaccounts.gov.
