Trump Accounts hit 70 million enrolled. What parents need to know
President Donald Trump speaks about Trump Accounts, investment savings accounts for children, in the Oval Office in the White House in Washington, Oct. 7, 2026.
Alex Wroblewski | Afp | Getty Images
President Donald Trump urged families to claim their Trump Accounts during an Oval Office event on Wednesday, following the automatic enrollment of millions of children and the Treasury Department’s move last week to permit stock donations.
Nearly 70 million Trump Accounts — a new investment vehicle for kids — have been created, including more than 60 million this month as part of that auto-enrollment effort. The expansion gives more eligible families with children born from 2025 to 2028 the opportunity to access a $1,000 government-funded seed deposit, along with any additional contributions.
Trump said Wednesday that “over $4.5 billion has been deposited,” including the seed money, direct contributions from family and friends, and philanthropic gifts. The administration said the new changes to Trump Accounts could also pave the way for more multimillion-dollar donations, with a number of philanthropists already poised to participate.
Several major gifts are in the pipeline, Internal Revenue Service CEO Frank Bisignano said Thursday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
“They range from small to mega,” he said. “We do have mega donors in the nine-digit range, you know, bunches of them.”
The latest Trump Account news comes as the midterm elections approach, and Republicans fight to keep slim Congressional majorities in the Senate and House.
What to know about Trump Accounts stock donations
After SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell pledged in July to donate stock to the Trump Accounts program, the Trump administration opened the door to similar donations to boost “large-scale private giving,” according to temporary regulations published last week by the IRS and Treasury.
The regulations allow Trump Accounts to hold donated individual stocks, a change from previous guidelines that only allowed diversified, low-cost index funds. Donated stocks generally must be held for five years before being sold, according to the Treasury.
These rules “make it more attractive to donate stock from a donor’s perspective,” said Ben Henry-Moreland, a certified financial planner with advisor platform Kitces.com. That’s largely because wealthy founders and shareholders can skirt the capital gains taxes triggered by selling the stock and then gifting the cash proceeds, he said.
However, it also means some children’s wealth accumulation could be tied to the performance of individual companies.
“From the individual-account-holder perspective, any of these donations are going to be a net gain,” Henry-Moreland said. “That being said, when you are investing in any one individual stock, there is a much higher element of risk.”
When asked about that risk Thursday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” the IRS’ Bisignano said, “there will be no concentration risk at all relative to the population.”
His comment conflicts with the Treasury regulations released last week that said Trump Account owners “will bear some additional risk in the form of increased portfolio concentration” for stock contributions.
Philanthropist list is ‘extraordinarily long’
With Trump at Wednesday’s event were tech CEO Michael Dell and his wife, Susan, and Altimeter Capital CEO Brad Gerstner.
The Dells previously committed $6.25 billion to provide additional grants for children born between 2016 and 2024 who live in ZIP codes where the median income is $118,000 or less, according to Invest America.
Gerstner also committed to help seed the investment accounts for kids in his home state of Indiana.
“Michael and Susan set the bar for what it means to give back in this country,” Gerstner said at the event. “The list of philanthropists who want to adopt ZIP codes across America, in Texas, in Indiana, in California, is extraordinarily long.”
Trump Accounts vs. other investing options
The new tax-deferred investing accounts for children, also known as 530A accounts, are open to any U.S. child under 18 with a Social Security number. Children born from 2025 through 2028 may also claim a one-time $1,000 pilot program contribution from the Treasury.
To claim Trump Accounts, parents or guardians must download the Trump Accounts app, verify their identity and relationship to the child, review the account information and accept the account terms, according to the Treasury.
“With automatic enrollment now complete, every American child under the age of 18 has a Trump Account in their name, making it easier than ever for families to participate,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in a written statement.
Families have several investing options to choose from for their kids, and Trump Accounts have been a “good conversation starter,” said Charissa Anderson, CFP, an executive vice president at Ferguson Wellman Capital Management in Portland, Oregon. Her firm ranked No. 52 on CNBC’s Financial Advisor 100 list for 2026.
“If a child qualifies for that $1,000 contribution, that’s free money essentially,” and parents should “take advantage,” she said.
But depending on goals, families may also consider other accounts, such as a 529 college savings plan for education, she said. These accounts offer tax-deferred growth and, unlike Trump Accounts, tax-free withdrawals for qualified education expenses.
Parents who aren’t saving for education could also use custodial accounts, which are brokerage accounts for children managed by adults, according to Tommy Lucas, a CFP at Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo in Orlando, Florida. His firm is ranked No. 44 on the 2026 Financial Advisor 100 list.
Custodial accounts incur yearly taxes and can trigger “kiddie tax,” which is an extra levy for parents once their child’s investment income exceeds a certain threshold. For 2026, if children don’t work, their first $1,350 of investment income is tax-free. Then, the child’s rate applies from $1,350 to $2,700, and the parents’ rate hits anything above that.
Custodial accounts offer a tax planning opportunity, Lucas said. For 2026, Parents can sell their child’s gains up to $1,350 and rebuy the same investments to “reset the basis.” This increases the original purchase price of the investment to current fair market value, Lucas said, which may help reduce capital gains taxes in the future.
Resetting the basis every year could provide “tax-free proceeds” for future expenses, like your child’s home down payment at age 25, for example, he said. But future growth may still be taxable.
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