Roughly 38% of American adults don’t own a single share of stock. The Trump Accounts program, tucked inside the 2025 legislation known as the One Big Beautiful Bill, is designed to change that by starting with the people who can’t even drive yet: children.
The concept is straightforward. Every US citizen child born between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028, qualifies for a $1,000 federal seed contribution deposited into a new tax-advantaged investment account. Families can layer on up to $5,000 per year, and employers can kick in an additional $2,500 per child. The money grows tax-deferred until the child turns 18, at which point it transitions to traditional IRA rules.
How the accounts actually work
The funds must be invested in low-cost, diversified US equity index funds or ETFs, with a mandate that at least 90% of holdings be in US companies. Individual stocks, bonds, and sector-specific funds are all off the table.
A dedicated mobile app launched on May 28, 2026, with full operational capabilities set for July 4, 2026. By March 31, 2026, over 4 million children had been registered, with more than 1 million claiming the initial pilot contribution.
