How to use these tools
Start with the Growth Calculator if you want a balance projection: enter birth year, annual contribution, employer help, and return rate, then toggle today's dollars. Use Trump Account vs. 529 when the question is college funding — it compares after-tax values side by side, including state deductions. Use Roth Conversion at 18 when your child is approaching 18 and the one-time conversion window matters. Each tool links its rules to primary sources so you can verify the math.
Our method: adjustable assumptions, primary sources
Every projection on this site uses the same stated rules: a one-time $1,000 federal deposit for January 1, 2025–December 31, 2028 births, a $5,000 per-child annual cap combining personal and employer money, employer contributions up to $2,500 excluded from income, index-fund-only investing until 18, conversion to a traditional IRA at 18, and a 2.5% inflation adjustment for today's-dollars views. Contributions are modeled at the start of each year with annual compounding. Where guidance is proposed rather than final — for example the March and August 2026 proposed regulations on basis and employer counting — the page says so and uses the conservative reading.
Worked example: $100 a month for a 2026 birth
Contribute $1,200 a year from 2026 to 2043 (18 contributions = $21,600) plus the $1,000 seed, earning 7% annually. By 18 the account holds roughly $45,000–$48,000 in nominal dollars, of which about $22,600 is contributions and the rest is growth — try it in the calculator with $1,200, 7%, birth year 2026. At 5% the same inputs land near $36,000; at 10% near $63,000. Toggle today's dollars to deflate by 2.5% yearly inflation: the 7% path is worth roughly $30,000 in 2026 purchasing power. Left untouched to 65 with no further contributions, the 7% path compounds to several hundred thousand nominal dollars — the exact figure is in the calculator's fourth stat card.
Limitations you should know
- Constant returns are illustrative, not predictive — real markets vary and can fall in any year.
- Post-18 IRA contributions are excluded from projections to keep the illustration honest.
- State tax treatment varies; see our state-tax guide. 529 state deductions do not transfer to Trump Accounts.
- Withdrawals and conversions have tax and aid ripples; see withdrawal rules, FAFSA impact, and the year-end checklist.
Guides
- How to open a Trump Account, step by step — Form 4547, ID.me, deadlines, and the scam red flags to watch for.
- Employer contributions explained — the $2,500 tax-free workplace benefit and what to ask HR.
- Withdrawal rules: taxes, penalties, and basis — which dollars come out tax-free, and the Roth conversion move at 18.
- FAFSA impact — how the account and conversions affect aid timing.
- Trump vs Coverdell vs UTMA — which child account fits which goal.
- Year-end checklist — caps, deadlines, and records before December 31.
- State taxes — conformity, deductions, and what to verify.
Frequently asked questions
Who gets the $1,000 deposit?
U.S. citizen children born 2025–2028 with a valid SSN, elected via IRS Form 4547. See seed eligibility edge cases.
How much can we contribute?
$5,000 per child per year combined across all givers including employer money. Contributions are after-tax federally.
Is this better than a 529 for college?
Usually not — qualified 529 withdrawals are tax-free for education. Many families claim the free $1,000 here and fund college in a 529. Compare in the side-by-side tool.
What happens at 18?
The account becomes a traditional IRA. See the age-18 checklist and model the Roth conversion window.
How current is this?
Rules reflect guidance available as of September 2026, including the March and August 2026 proposed regulations. Updated pages carry their revision date; verify at irs.gov/trumpaccounts before acting. Because the program launched July 4, 2026, check back before year-end: the September comment period and October hearing on employer rules could refine cap counting, and fixed-date conformity states may update their statutes in early 2027.
Where should extra dollars go first?
If college is the goal, fund the 529 to any state-deduction limit first, then the Trump Account to the cap. If retirement seeding is the goal, reverse it: claim the Trump seed and employer money, then use a custodial Roth once the child has earned income.
Why this site exists
Trump Accounts (created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025) are brand new, and most of what's written about them is either official optimism or vague news coverage. These calculators show the math, let you change the assumptions, and link to primary sources — IRS guidance and the statute itself — so you can verify everything. When guidance is ambiguous, such as how employer contributions interact with the $5,000 annual cap, we say so on the page instead of guessing silently.
Site update log: September 23, 2026 — added FAFSA, Coverdell/UTMA, year-end, and state-tax guides; expanded homepage methodology and examples.
Everything on this site is educational — not financial, tax, or legal advice. Rules cited reflect guidance available as of September 2026 and may change; always verify against official sources before acting.