Treasury To Auto-Enroll Up To 60 Million Children In 'Trump Accounts'; Auto-Enrollment Begins Oct. 1

The Treasury Department will automatically establish up to 60 million 'Trump Accounts' for eligible children across the United States, according to guidance published in the Federal Register on Wednesday.

Temporary regulations governing these President Trump–named, tax-deferred investment accounts take effect Sept. 30, with automatic enrollment scheduled to begin Oct. 1. Until now, parents or guardians had to sign up on a child's behalf; the new rules are intended to broaden participation and simplify access.

What the Rule Change Means

The Treasury expects automatic enrollment to add roughly 2 million additional accounts per birth-year cohort and to increase the appeal for donors, potentially generating billions of dollars in so-called class contributions distributed across tens of millions of accounts.

"Stakeholders have expressed that eligible donors prefer that their contributions reach all children, not just children whose parents have the awareness to opt in," the notice said. "The incremental value of class contributions is expected to be billions of dollars per year, allocated across the Trump accounts of tens of millions of children."

Eligibility, Government Seed, And Contributions

The accounts were created under the One Big Beautiful Bill for U.S. citizens born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028. Qualifying accounts for children born in that window will receive a $1,000 government seed contribution, the Treasury's fact sheet said. Families with children born after those dates (but who are still under 18) may open accounts as well, though those accounts will not receive the $1,000 seed.

Friends, relatives and employers may contribute to accounts, with annual limits of up to $5,000 per year. Wealthy philanthropists and corporations have pledged large contributions to the program; for example, Michael and Susan Dell pledged $6.25 billion to benefit accounts for children born between 2016 and 2024 living in ZIP codes where household median income is below $150,000. More than 50 corporations also offered to make contributions on behalf of their employees' children.

Background And Administrative Details

Before this rule change, parents or guardians had to open a Trump Account by submitting IRS Form 4547 through the Trump Accounts mobile app, which launched July 4. They could also enroll during tax filing or via the IRS website. The government withdrew the earlier regulation that it said "did not provide for broad automatic enrollment by the Secretary."

"After considering public comments and further addressing the legal and operational issues associated with automatic enrollment, the Treasury Department and the IRS have identified an administrable structure that permits broad automatic enrollment while protecting return information," the new regulations state.

The Treasury said the new auto-enrollment capability will remove the need for most adults to create accounts manually. Many public commenters supported using personal information from tax returns, the Social Security Administration and other records to identify and enroll eligible children, arguing that requiring an affirmative election by a parent or guardian would reduce participation, especially among nonfilers and families with limited time or resources.

"Commenters stated that requiring an affirmative election by a person other than the Secretary would reduce participation, particularly among nonfilers, families unfamiliar with tax procedures, and families with limited time or resources to complete a separate enrollment process," the notice said. "An eligible individual should not lose the opportunity to receive contributions or investment growth merely because no adult completed an election."

What Parents And Guardians Should Know

The Treasury says most adults will no longer need to create accounts for eligible children. Parents and guardians should watch for official communications from the Treasury or IRS about enrollment details, confirm account information if notified, and review contribution options and limits if they or others plan to deposit funds.

As with any new program that uses personal records for enrollment, questions remain about implementation and data protections; the Treasury emphasized that the adopted approach aims to balance broad enrollment with safeguards for return information.