Trump Account Calculator

How this calculator works

The math is simple compound growth. The $1,000 seed grows at the rate you pick. Your monthly contributions are added each year and grow too. Years to grow equals 18 minus your child's current age, because the child takes over the account at 18.

• The seed: $1,000 free federal start for eligible U.S. babies born January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2028 (citizen with a Social Security number), paid once the account is claimed. Kids born before 2025 start at $0; they already have an account and can contribute once you claim it.
• The cap: up to $5,000 per year combined per child (about $416 a month), adjusted for inflation after 2027. Employer money counts toward it. The $1,000 seed does not count against the $5,000.
• Employer money: if a parent's employer offers a Trump Account program, up to $2,500 a year from it is tax-free to that parent. The $2,500 is per worker, not per child, and it sits inside the $5,000 cap, not on top of it. Both limits are set by the 2025 law. Putting part of your paycheck into your child's account before tax is only a proposed IRS rule for now, with a phone-only public hearing on October 15, 2026 (proposed rule, August 11, 2026).
• The rate: the money is invested in low-cost, broad U.S. stock index funds, starting in an S&P 500 fund (SPYM), with fund fees capped at 0.1% a year. Historically the market has averaged roughly 7% per year after inflation. Some years are up 30%, some down 20%. This tool uses a flat average to illustrate, not to predict.
• The age-18 rule: you manage the account until your child turns 18, then they take over. After that, only the after-tax money people put in comes back out tax-free. The $1,000 seed, tax-free employer money, and all the growth are taxed as income when withdrawn (IRS Form 4547 instructions). Before age 59.5 that taxable part also owes a 10% penalty unless an exception applies, such as college or a first home; at or after 59.5, income tax with no penalty.

This calculator is for educational purposes only. It is not financial, investment, or tax advice. Growth figures are illustrative based on the rate you choose and are not guaranteed. Program details can change; confirm current rules before making decisions. For the full background, read our guide on what a Trump Account is.

How much will a $1,000 Trump Account be worth in 18 years?

A $1,000 Trump Account seed with nothing added grows to about $3,400 in 18 years at a 7% average annual return, or $2,400 at 5% and $4,700 at 9%. Adding $100 a month raises it to about $44,000 at 7%, and $250 a month to about $105,000. Returns vary year to year and are not guaranteed.

How the numbers are worked out: balance at 18 = $1,000 x (1 + r)^18 + (monthly amount x 12) x ((1 + r)^18 - 1) / r, where r is the yearly return. This is the same math the calculator above uses. The $1,000 seed goes in at birth, each year's contributions go in at the end of that year, growth compounds once a year, and there are no fees, taxes, or withdrawals. 7% is roughly the long-term stock market average after inflation, so 5% shows a slower path and 9% a faster one. Figures are rounded to the nearest $100.

The gap between what you put in and the balance at 18 is compound growth doing the work. Left untouched past 18, the same account keeps compounding: the calculator above projects the value at 59.5 for any amount you enter.

What the $1,000 seed becomes on its own

The most common question parents ask is the simplest: what is the free $1,000 worth if no one ever adds a cent? At a 7% average annual return, here is the seed alone over time, with no contributions.

Even the seed by itself, never touched, grows to about $56,000 by age 59.5. That is the whole case for leaving a Trump Account invested: the free $1,000 does the work if you give it decades, and any contributions in the table above simply speed it up. Every figure assumes a 7% average return and is an illustration, not a promise; real returns vary year to year.

How to open a Trump Account and claim the $1,000

You no longer open one. On October 1, 2026, the Treasury finished automatic enrollment: every eligible child under 18 with a valid Social Security number now has a Trump Account (IRS temporary regulations, TD 10056, in effect since September 30, 2026). A parent still has to claim it to get the $1,000 seed and to add money.

1. Check who qualifies for the seed. The one-time $1,000 federal contribution is for U.S. citizen children born January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2028 who have a Social Security number. Any eligible child under 18 with a Social Security number has an account either way; without the seed it simply starts at $0 instead of $1,000.
2. Download the official Trump Accounts app. It is on the App Store and Google Play.
3. Claim the account. You verify your identity and your relationship to your child, review their information, and accept the account terms, then sign the account agreement to activate it. The Treasury cannot make the $1,000 election for you, and it says an eligible child's account has to be claimed to receive the seed. Until it is claimed, the account cannot take money from you, family, or an employer.
4. Add contributions if you want to. Once the account is claimed, contributions are capped at $5,000 per year combined per child (about $416 a month). If your employer offers a Trump Account program, up to $2,500 a year from it is tax-free to you (per worker, not per child); it counts toward the cap, not on top of it. The money starts in an S&P 500 index fund (SPYM).
5. Let it grow until 18. You manage the account until your child turns 18, then they take it over. Use the calculator above to see what different contribution amounts could become by then.

Already filed IRS Form 4547? If you finished setting up the account before October 1, 2026, there is nothing new to claim. If you filed but never signed the account agreement, your child got an automatic account under that election, so claim it in the app.

On October 1, 2026, the Treasury said more than 60 million more children now have an account ready to be claimed, on top of the millions families had already signed up (Treasury). As of October 7, 2026, the White House counted nearly 70 million Trump Accounts and more than $4.5 billion deposited: $1.3 billion in $1,000 seeds, over $600 million from family and friends, and $2.6 billion in charitable gifts (White House). Program details can still change: the temporary rules are also out as a proposed rule with comments due November 30, 2026, and a separate proposed rule on which funds the accounts can hold had a comment period through October 20, 2026.

Explaining a Trump Account to your kids

The account is a great chance to teach the idea that money can make money. Here is how to talk about it at three different ages, in plain words.

Ages 3-6: money that grows

Keep it concrete. "You have a special money jar that the government helped fill with a thousand dollars. We do not spend it. We leave it alone, and over a long time it grows bigger all by itself, like a plant that keeps getting taller." A piggy bank you do not open is the mental picture that lands at this age.

Ages 7-12: money makes money

Now you can add the mechanic. "Your account is invested, which means it earns a little extra each year. Next year it earns on the bigger amount, so the extra gets bigger too. Leave it alone long enough and the earnings start to outgrow what we put in." Pull up the calculator and let them watch the growth slice get larger than the contribution slice. That gap is the lesson.

Ages 13-17: the long game

Teens can handle the real rules. "This is yours at 18. If you leave it invested instead of cashing it out, it keeps compounding. The same balance can multiply many times over by the time you are near retirement, because the growth has decades to build on itself. Taking it out early costs you taxes and a penalty, so the smart move is patience." Show them the value-at-59.5 line; it makes the case better than any lecture.