Families with young children in the United States will have fewer trades ahead to access the new federal government-driven child investment accounts, known as Trump Accounts. The change seeks to expand the participation and prevent some minors from staying out for lack of registration.
As of October 1, the U.S. Treasury Department announced it will start automatically creating Trump Accounts for children who meet the requirements. The new rules will allow up to 60 million accounts to be opened without parents or guardians having to initiate the process in each case.
The government had initially ruled out a widespread automatic registration due to administrative difficulties. After receiving feedback during the regulatory process, the Treasury and the IRS established a new mechanism to expand participation.
“Interested parties have expressed that eligible donors prefer their contributions to reach all children, not just those whose parents have the ability to participate,” the U.S. Treasury said. “The added value of collective contributions is expected to amount to billions of dollars annually, distributed across Trump’s accounts of tens of millions of children.”
Automatic registration will begin after the new regulations come into force on September 30. Until now, families had to request the account opening through the mechanisms established by the government.
The Trump Accounts were created through tax legislation known as One Big Beautiful Bill. U.S. citizens born between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2028 may be eligible to receive an initial $1,000 federal government contribution.
Minors born outside this period can also have an account if they meet the established requirements, but will not receive the $1,000 government contribution.
Accounts can also receive contributions from family, friends and employers.The general limit of contributions is $5,000 USD per year, according to the program rules.
The scheme has also received commitments from large donors. Michael and Susan Dell announced a $6.250 million donation to the accounts of certain children born between 2016 and 2024 who live on postal codes that meet the established family income criterion.
In addition, more than 50 companies have committed to making contributions for the children of their employees.
Before the change, parents or guardians had to submit the Internal Tax Service (IRS) Form 4547 to apply for a Trump Account. They could also start the process using the IRS digital tools, the Trump Accounts app, or by submitting their tax returns.
The Treasury Department noted that the new system will allow the use of information available in tax returns, records from the Social Security Administration and other official sources to identify eligible minors.
During the public consultation, some participants pointed out that requiring individual registration could reduce the participation of families who do not submit tax returns, are not familiar with these procedures or have less time and resources to complete an additional application.
“A eligible person should not miss out on the opportunity to receive contributions or investment growth simply because no adult has completed a choice,” the Treasury Department said.
With the new modality, the creation of the accounts will no longer depend in many cases on a prior request from the parents. However, families will need to review applicable requirements, especially if they expect to access the $1,000 federal contribution or make additional contributions.
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