Financial Tools · Saving for Kids

Trump Account Growth Calculator

See what a child's Trump Account could be worth at 18, 25 and 65: the $1,000 federal deposit, what family and employers add, and the growth. Find out how much of it would be taxed on the way out, and how the same family money would do in a 529 plan or an ordinary custodial account.

Start calculating

$81,300

what the $1,000 federal deposit alone grows to by age 65 at 7% a year after fees, before inflation and tax. An illustration over a full 65 years; the calculator below also counts deposit timing and the fees you choose

$1,000from the Treasury for U.S. citizen children born from 2025 through 2028, if a parent elects it

$5,000a year at most from family, friends and employers combined, rising with inflation after 2027

$2,500a year an employer can add per employee, tax-free to the employee

Age 18when the money can first come out, on January 1 of that year; then traditional IRA rules apply

01Your Child's Account

Enter the child's birth year and what you plan to put in. The calculator applies the contribution limits, adds the $1,000 federal deposit or the Dell $250 where the child is eligible, and grows the account at the return you choose, after fund fees. Everything stays in your browser. For the basics of compounding, see the Compound Interest Calculator.

The child

Year the child was born (or is due)

Include the $1,000 federal deposit (children born 2025 to 2028, parent must elect it)

Include the Dell $250 (children 10 and under born before 2025, in ZIP codes with a median family income of $150,000 or less)

What goes in each year

First year of yearly family and employer contributionsthe $1,000 and one-time gifts still arrive in the first year the account can take money

From parents, grandparents and friends, $ a year

From a parent's employer, $ a yearup to $2,500 per employee

One-time gift from a charity, state or other program, in $outside the $5,000 limit

Yearly return before fees, %broad U.S. stock index; see the note below

Fees, taxes and inflation

Fund fees, % a yearcapped at 0.1% by law

Inflation, % a year

Tax rate on money taken out at 18 to 25, %federal plus state, on the taxable part

Tax rate on money taken out at 65, %

Capital gains tax on a custodial account sold at 18, %

Dividend yield of the index fund, %part of the total return above

Tax on dividends in a custodial account, %often 0% for small accounts under the kiddie tax

At 18	Amount

02How It Grows

The account by year, split into what the family put in, the money that came free (the federal deposit, employer money and gifts) and the growth on all of it. Only the family's part comes back tax-free.

Family contributionsFederal deposit, employer and giftsGrowth

Year by year table

Year	Age	Family	Free money	Balance at year end	Tax-free part

03Trump Account vs 529 vs Custodial Account

The same family contributions put into three different accounts, valued at 18 after tax. The Trump Account rows include the free money, because only a Trump Account gets it; the last row shows the Trump Account with the family's money alone, so the accounts can be compared like for like. The 529 assumes the money pays for qualified education; the custodial account is an ordinary UTMA brokerage account in the child's name holding the same kind of index fund.

Where the money goes	Value at 18	Tax and penalty	After tax

The pattern holds across most inputs. Claiming the free money is close to a no-brainer: it costs nothing and it can only help. For the family's own savings, the answer depends on what the money is for. For college, a 529 usually wins because its growth is never taxed when it pays for school. For a child's retirement, the Trump Account can be turned into a Roth IRA after 18, and once the child has earned income a custodial Roth IRA is better still, because Roth growth is never taxed at all. See the Roth Conversion Calculator for how a conversion is taxed.

04What the $1,000 Alone Could Become

The federal deposit with nothing else added, at three yearly returns after fees. It is not a forecast: stocks have had decades well above and below these rates. The last column is the same money at 7% in today's dollars, with 2.5% inflation taken out.

Age	At 5%	At 7%	At 9%	7%, today's dollars
18	$2,400	$3,400	$4,700	$2,200
25	$3,400	$5,400	$8,600	$2,900
35	$5,500	$10,700	$20,400	$4,500
45	$9,000	$21,000	$48,300	$6,900
55	$14,600	$41,300	$114,400	$10,600
65	$23,800	$81,300	$270,800	$16,300

Each figure is the $1,000 compounded for the full number of years at the rate shown, after fees, as an illustration; the calculator above also counts the mid-year deposit and the fees you choose, so its results run a little lower. All of it is taxed as income when it comes out, because the federal deposit creates no tax-free basis.

05The Rules in One Place

Who can have an account	Any child under 18 at the end of the year the account is set up who has a valid Social Security number; citizenship is not required for the account itself. Treasury began opening accounts automatically on October 1, 2026; a parent has to claim the account before money can go in.
Federal deposit	$1,000, once, for children born January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2028, if a parent elects it (IRS Form 4547, the Trump Accounts app or trumpaccounts.gov). Paid no earlier than July 4, 2026.
Yearly limit	$5,000 from everyone except governments and charities, for 2026 and 2027; indexed to inflation in $100 steps after that. Contributions are due by December 31 and stop at the end of the year before the child turns 18.
Employers	Up to $2,500 a year per employee, across all of the employee's children, excluded from the employee's income (section 128). Counts toward the $5,000.
Governments and charities	Deposits from federal, state and local governments and 501(c)(3) charities for a broad group of children do not count toward the limit. The Dell $250 pledge is one.
Investments until 18	Mutual funds and ETFs tracking a broad index of mostly U.S. stocks; no sector funds, leverage, bonds or cash; total fees of 0.1% a year or less.
Taxes going in	No deduction for anyone. Family contributions are after-tax and become the account's basis.
Taxes coming out	Basis comes out tax-free; growth, the federal deposit, employer money and charity gifts are taxed as ordinary income, in proportion with each withdrawal.
Access	Until January 1 of the year the child turns 18, money can leave the account only by rollover to another Trump Account, by a rollover to the child's ABLE account at age 17, as a return of excess contributions, or on the child's death. After that, traditional IRA rules: a 10% penalty before 59 and a half unless an exception applies (education, first home up to $10,000 and others), Roth conversions allowed, required minimum distributions later in life.

Rules as of November 8, 2026, from IRS Notice 2025-68, the Form 4547 instructions and the Treasury regulations that took effect September 30, 2026. Further guidance can change details, especially on how withdrawals are split between basis and taxable money.

06How the Calculator Works and What It Leaves Out

Timing. Yearly family and employer contributions run from the first year you choose through the year before the child turns 18. The earliest possible year is 2026, the first year accounts took money, or the birth year for a child born later. The federal deposit and any one-time gift are placed in that earliest year whatever start year you choose. Each year's contributions are assumed to arrive at mid-year, so they earn half a year of growth in their first year. The federal deposit and any gifts are counted at mid-year in the first year too (the federal deposit could not arrive before July 4, 2026), so they also earn half a year of growth in that year. The balance at 18 is the value on December 31 of the year before the child turns 18, when the growth period ends.

Limits. Family and employer money together is held to $5,000 a year for 2026 and 2027, and employer money to $2,500. After 2027 both limits are estimated to rise with 2.5% inflation, rounded down to $100, since the official figures are announced each year.

Growth. One steady return, less the fund fee, every year. Real markets do not move in a straight line, and an account that holds only stocks can be worth much less than this at 18 if the market has just fallen.

Custodial account. Each year the fund pays dividends at the yield you enter, on the balance at the start of the year and on half a year for that year's new contributions; the tax on them is paid from the account and the rest is reinvested, which buys more shares and adds to the account's cost basis, as the IRS treats reinvested dividends. The dividends are part of the total return you enter rather than added to it, and the yield can be set above the return to model a falling market. At 18 the capital gains tax applies only to the balance above that basis (the family's contributions plus the reinvested dividends).

Taxes. The taxable part of every withdrawal is the balance minus the family's contributions, taxed at the rate you enter. Cashing out at 18 for anything other than an exception such as education adds the 10% penalty on the taxable part. The Roth conversion row assumes the tax on the conversion is paid from other money, so the whole balance moves into the Roth. The 529 row assumes all of the money pays qualified education costs and ignores any state deduction.

Left out: state tax deductions for 529 contributions; the kiddie tax rules for custodial accounts; how any of these accounts count for college financial aid; employer matches of the federal deposit; and any changes Congress or the Treasury make later. This is an estimate to compare choices, not tax advice. For the bigger retirement picture, see Retirement Savings by Age and the other Financial Tools.

07Frequently Asked Questions

Who gets a Trump Account?

Any child under 18 with a valid Social Security number. Citizenship is required only for the $1,000 federal deposit, not for the account itself. Accounts were opt-in when they opened on July 4, 2026, but on October 1, 2026 the Treasury said it had automatically opened accounts for more than 60 million children. No money can go in until a parent claims the account and confirms the child's details, which is done in the Trump Accounts app or at trumpaccounts.gov.

Who gets the free $1,000?

Children who are U.S. citizens with a Social Security number and were born from January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2028. A parent has to elect the deposit (on IRS Form 4547, in the app or at trumpaccounts.gov); being enrolled in an account is not the same as electing the $1,000. Children born before 2025 or after 2028 do not get it, though family, employers and charities can still put money in their accounts.

How much can we put in each year?

Up to $5,000 a year in total from parents, grandparents, friends, the child and employers combined, for 2026 and 2027, after which the limit rises with inflation in $100 steps. An employer can put in up to $2,500 a year per employee, tax-free to the employee, and that counts toward the $5,000. The $1,000 federal deposit and gifts from governments and charities such as the Dell pledge do not count toward the limit. Contributions stop at the end of the year before the child turns 18.

Is the money taxed?

Not while it is in the account. Family contributions go in after tax, with no deduction, and come back out tax-free because they are the account's basis. Everything else, meaning the growth, the $1,000 federal deposit, employer money and charity gifts, is taxed as ordinary income when it comes out, the same way a traditional IRA is. Each withdrawal is part basis and part taxable, in proportion.

When can my child take the money out?

From January 1 of the year the child turns 18. From then on the account follows the rules for a traditional IRA: the taxable part is income, and withdrawals before age 59 and a half also pay a 10% penalty unless an exception applies. The exceptions include higher education costs, up to $10,000 toward a first home, disability, and some medical and health insurance costs. The money does not have to come out at 18; it can stay invested for decades.

Trump Account or 529 plan for college?

For college money, a 529 plan is usually better for the family's own dollars: the growth is tax-free when it pays for school, and many states give a deduction for contributing. The Trump Account is taxed on the growth even when it pays for school (the education exception only removes the 10% penalty). The two are not either-or. The free money only goes into the Trump Account, so most families with an eligible child should claim the $1,000 and any employer or charity deposits, then decide where their own savings go.

Can a Trump Account become a Roth IRA?

Yes, once the growth period ends at 18 the usual IRA rules apply, including Roth conversions. Converting means paying income tax on the taxable part in the year of the conversion, which can be small for a young adult with little other income, and after that the money grows tax-free. The calculator shows what converting at 18 and leaving the money to 65 could look like.

What can the money be invested in?

Until 18, only mutual funds or exchange-traded funds that track a broad index of mostly U.S. stocks, such as the S&P 500, with total yearly fees of 0.1% or less. Sector and industry funds, leverage, bonds and cash are not allowed, apart from cash held briefly. That makes the account all stocks for its whole first 18 years, so the value will swing with the market.

What is the Dell $250?

Michael and Susan Dell pledged $6.25 billion to put $250 into the Trump Accounts of up to 25 million children aged 10 and under who were born before 2025, and so are too old for the federal $1,000, and who live in ZIP codes where the median family income is $150,000 or less. It is a one-time gift, outside the $5,000 limit, and like the federal deposit it is taxed when it comes out.

08Sources

IRS: Trump Accounts (eligibility, the $1,000 pilot deposit, Form 4547)
IRS Notice 2025-68 (contribution limits, employer contributions, basis, investments and distributions)
IRS: Instructions for Form 4547 (who can have an account, who gets the $1,000, when deposits start, what can come out before 18)
Federal Register: Trump Accounts regulations (September 30, 2026) (automatic enrollment and charitable contributions)
IRS: reinvested dividends and cost basis
ThinkAdvisor: Michael and Susan Dell pledge $6.25 billion to fund 25 million Trump Accounts (December 2, 2025)
BDO: IRS issues initial guidance on Trump Accounts (summary of Notice 2025-68)
Center for Retirement Research at Boston College: Trump Accounts, a primer for parents (basis, withdrawals and Roth conversions)
CNBC: Trump Accounts have auto-enrolled more than 60 million children, Treasury says (October 1, 2026)
Wikipedia: Trump account (timeline, the Dell pledge and other donors)

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Source data: IRS Notice 2025-68 and the Treasury regulations of September 2026 (contribution limits, the $1,000 pilot deposit, basis and withdrawal rules); returns, inflation and tax rates are set by the reader. Updates: As the rules change. How we build our data pages.