- The IRS began automatically opening accounts for more than 60 million eligible children on October 1, 2026.
- An authorized adult must claim each account before contributions or the federal seed payment can be deposited.
- Eligible families must separately elect the one-time $1,000 payment; parent and employer contributions share a $5,000 annual cap in 2026 and 2027.
The IRS and Treasury began automatically opening Trump Accounts for more than 60 million eligible children on October 1, 2026. Parents and other authorized adults must still claim each account before money can go in.
The change covers children under 18 with a valid Social Security number who do not already have an account. Temporary Treasury regulations took effect September 30, 2026, one day before the rollout began.
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the enrollment figure on X. The accounts are waiting for families to claim them.
“Millions of children have already enrolled in Trump Accounts. With automatic enrollment, over 60 million more eligible children now have an account ready to be claimed.”
An automatically created account is not yet under a parent’s control. A parent, guardian, legal custodian or other adult with legal authority must complete the claim process.
Treasury’s instructions call for adults to use the official Trump Accounts app or secure web portal. They must verify their identity, confirm their relationship to the child, review the child’s information and accept the account terms. The adult must claim the account before relatives, friends or employers can contribute.
The $1,000 deposit requires a separate election
Automatic account creation does not enroll a child for the one-time federal seed payment. Eligible families must make a separate election to receive the $1,000 Treasury contribution.
The pilot payment is limited to U.S. citizens born from January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2028. A child’s eligibility for that payment does not remove the claim requirement. Until an authorized adult claims the account, the seed money cannot be deposited.
The program officially launched on July 4, 2026. The new procedure changes how an eligible account gets established, not the steps needed to take control of it or request the federal contribution.
Family and employer deposits share a yearly ceiling
For 2026 and 2027, contributions from parents and employers combined are capped at $5,000 per child. The annual limit will be indexed for inflation after 2027.
| Contribution rule | Amount or reporting detail |
|---|---|
| Combined parent and employer contributions | $5,000 per child in 2026 and 2027 |
| Employer contributions | Up to $2,500 per year, indexed for inflation |
| Employer reporting | Box 12 of Form W-2, code TA |
| Federal pilot contribution | One-time $1,000 payment for eligible children, subject to a separate election |
The employer limit is part of the yearly contribution framework, not a replacement for the claim process. Employer contributions cannot enter an unclaimed account. Employers report their contributions in Box 12 of Form W-2 using code TA.
The federal seed payment also sits apart from those regular contributions. It is a one-time pilot deposit, while the yearly cap applies to combined parent and employer contributions.
The account follows special IRA rules through the child’s 17th year
Section 530A created the accounts as a form of traditional IRA with special rules during a period called the growth period. That period runs from the account’s establishment through December 31 of the year the child turns 17.
During that span, the money faces special rules governing contributions, investments and distributions. After the growth period ends, most of the account-specific provisions fall away, and standard traditional IRA rules generally apply.
That structure makes the account more than a place to hold the Treasury payment. Contributions from family members and employers also follow the account rules, and the account remains subject to the special restrictions during the growth period.
Separate guidance sets employer reporting and comment dates
The temporary regulations apply to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026. A staff statement from the Securities and Exchange Commission said the Treasury secretary would make initial elections “on or about October 1, 2026” and establish an “Auto Account” for eligible children who did not already have one.
The IRS issued employer-contribution and reporting guidance in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2026-37 on September 8, 2026. It later published proposed regulations in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2026-38, setting October 20, 2026 as the deadline for comments.
The new automatic process is not the only estimate of the program’s reach. A technical analysis put the pool at about 73.3 million eligible minors across 44 million families, compared with Treasury’s public estimate of more than 60 million children enrolled.
