A guide for family
Paying into a child’s Trump Account
A new kind of account exists for children, the government seeds some of them with $1,000, and anyone can add to it. Here is how that works, and how a grandparent actually gets money into one.
What it is
A Trump Account is a federal savings account for a child under eighteen, created by Congress in 2025. The money in it is invested in a fund that tracks the S&P 500 or another broad index of American companies, and it stays locked until the first of January in the year the child turns eighteen. After that it is theirs, under rules much like a traditional IRA.
Children who are US citizens and were born between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2028 can get a one-time $1,000 from the government. A parent has to ask for it, on IRS Form 4547, even if the account already exists. That deposit sits outside the yearly limit below.
Who can put money in
Anyone. Parents, grandparents, aunts, godparents, family friends, and employers. Contributions opened on July 4, 2026.
The limit is $5,000 a year per child, and it is shared across everyone who gives, not $5,000 each. An employer can add up to $2,500 of that. The figure rises with inflation from 2028. If Grandma puts in $5,000 in March, nobody else can add anything that year, so a family should agree who gives what before the birthday.
How a grandparent actually does it
Since October 1, 2026, the Treasury has been opening an account automatically for every eligible child who doesn’t already have one. Before family money can go in, a parent claims it in the official Trump Accounts app or at TrumpAccounts.gov. After that, the parent has the account details, and money goes in through the app.
That’s the awkward part. A grandparent doesn’t have those details, and most parents would rather not hand out account numbers at a party. In practice the gift goes to the parent, and the parent moves it in.
GoodNest is built around exactly that hand-off. The family sends one link; a gift goes straight to the parent by Zelle, Venmo or PayPal, every cent of it; and the parent records that it went into the Trump Account and can send the person who gave a thank-you that says so. GoodNest never moves the money itself, and never holds it.
Trump Account or 529?
Different jobs. A 529 grows tax-free when the money is spent on education. A Trump Account isn’t tied to education at all, and its growth is taxed when it comes out, like a traditional IRA. Many families will end up with both, and a gift can go to either. GoodNest lets a family name whichever they choose, and never steers.
For the full rules, including the taxes, the lock until eighteen, and how it compares with a 529, see The 530A Trump Account Explained.
This page is a description, not advice. The rules are the IRS’s, and its own summary is here. Figures on this page are as of October 2026.
One link, wherever the money ends up
GoodNest gives your child one link, meant to last until their letter opens. Family can add to the nest egg any time they think of your child — you move each gift into the account you chose — and anyone giving can seal a letter, a voice note or a video to be opened when your child is grown. Free for families, and GoodNest takes nothing from any gift.
See how it works