ewsba.se
If you are one of the roughly 5 million children who now own "Trump Accounts," you could eventually find a share of Tesla or Nvidia added to the portfolio.
The federal savings program for children keeps expanding. The initiative started as a federal pledge to deposit $1,000 into savings accounts for every child born between 2025 and 2028: an IRA for kids, basically.
Then, pledges poured in from philanthropists and corporate America, potentially expanding the program’s reach.
Now, according to the New York Times, the Trump administration is talking about allowing some of the world's wealthiest people to donate shares of stock in their companies to Trump Accounts. In other words, Elon Musk could potentially gift shares of Tesla, or Jensen Huang could kick in shares of Nvidia.
Opening up Trump Accounts to stock shares would fundamentally change the program, which currently allows only cash investments in broad index funds.
Here’s everything you need to know about Trump Accounts, starting with how to get one.
Trump Accounts launch on July 5, 2026. Contributions cannot be made before that date.
Parents or legal guardians have at least two options for opening an account. The latest, and easiest, is to file IRS Form 4547 online at trumpaccounts.gov. The form will ask for dates of birth, Social Security numbers and contact information.
You could also file Form 4547 with your 2025 tax return.
Eligible families should consider filing the form sooner than later, so the account is ready for the July rollout, Vanguard advises.
After submission, the IRS will establish the Trump Account. Sometime later, "you’ll be contacted by the partner financial firm where your Trump Account will be held, with further instructions on how to complete the setup," the official website instructs.
That process begins in May, according to a guidance document.
In April, the Treasury Department announced that the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation would be a financial agent for Trump Accounts. The bank will partner with Robinhood to serve as custodians of the accounts and develop a Trump Account app.
Roughly 5 million children have been enrolled in Trump Accounts, including 1.2 million babies who are eligible for the $1,000 federal seed money, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an April event sponsored by CNBC.
The seed money will land in your Trump Account sometime after July 4 and "as soon as practicable" after the account is authenticated, a Treasury guidance document says.
The Trump Account is owned by the child but administered by an adult until the child turns 18, according to Fidelity Investments.
All U.S. citizens born between 2025 and 2028 qualify for Trump Accounts. You must have a Social Security number.
American children born before 2025 who are under 18 will also be eligible for Trump Accounts, with all the same features, but with no $1,000 seed money from the federal government.
Only one Trump Account may be opened per child.
On this point, the facts remain unclear.
IRS rules say you can take distributions from a Trump Account on Jan. 1 of the year you turn 18.
But that guidance may change to allow withdrawals only after the child’s 18th birthday, said Rita Assaf, vice president of retirement offerings at Fidelity. The reason: A kid who hasn’t turned 18 doesn’t have the same legal rights as an adult.
From that point, Trump Accounts will work much like Individual Retirement Accounts. IRA rules generally penalize withdrawals before age 59½, with exceptions that include a qualified first-time home purchase, higher education and medical expenses. After age 59½, you can withdraw IRA funds without penalty.
Trump Accounts come with unusual restrictions. You can invest the funds only in low-cost index funds: either mutual funds or ETFs that track an index of "primarily" American stocks. At least 90% of the funds must be invested in U.S. firms, according to IRS guidance. The fund may not charge an expense ratio higher than 0.1%. Expense ratios are essentially administrative fees.
It’s a unique set of rules, with an overarching theme of "invest in America," said J. Spencer Williams, founder and CEO of the Retirement Clearinghouse, a financial technology firm.
The rules change when the child turns 18 and the Trump Account becomes "an ordinary IRA," Williams said. After that, accountholders will have more freedom in how to invest the funds.
The U.S. Treasury will create and administer Trump Accounts, with BNY and Robinhood serving as custodians.
Eventually, families will be permitted to move the accounts to outside financial providers: presumably, the same companies that already administer 401(k) and IRA accounts.
Contributions can come from individuals, employers, governments, philanthropists and charities: pretty much anyone.
Contributions max out at $5,000 a year. But the onetime government "seed" contribution doesn’t count toward the annual limit, nor do contributions from governments and charities.
An employer may contribute up to $2,500 per year per employee, money that may be split among multiple children. Employees can divert pre-tax pay into a Trump Account. Those contributions count toward the $5,000 annual limit.
The annual limits are indexed to inflation and will rise over time.
Individual contributions to Trump Accounts generally will come from after-tax dollars. When those funds are withdrawn, only the earnings are taxed, Vanguard advises.
Contributions from other sources, including employers and employees, charities and governments are pre-tax, so the full value of a withdrawal is taxed.
With so many potential contributors, differing tax rules and variable contribution limits, Trump Account holders may struggle to keep track.
"It’s unclear what happens if Granddad puts money in and your employer also puts money in," Williams said. "It’s unclear how all of that is going to be sorted out over time."
Philanthropists Michael and Susan Dell have pledged $6.25 billion: $250 each to the first 25 million Trump Account applicants ages 10 or under and born before 2025, from ZIP codes with median incomes under $150,000.
The Dell pledge expands the reach of Trump Accounts: "That’s not for newborns," said Assaf of Fidelity.
Philanthropists Ray and Barbara Dalio have pledged $250 contributions to 300,000 children in Connecticut. Hedge fund manager Brad Gerstner announced a similar pledge in Indiana, part of a federal "50 State Challenge" to mobilize philanthropy nationwide.
JPMorgan Chase, Charles Schwab, BlackRock, Visa, Intel, Bank of America and many other companies have pledged Trump Account contributions to children of employees.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Billionaires may be allowed to donate stock shares to Trump Accounts