Trump Account Calculator
Project your child's Trump Account balance at 18 and compare it to a 529 plan or taxable account.
Your child and contributions
Accounts convert to a Traditional IRA at 18.
From family + employer, up to $5,000/year total.
Applied identically to all three accounts for a fair comparison.
Applied only to the taxable brokerage account's gains.
Trump Account balance at 18
$34,545
$19,000 contributed
Compared to the same monthly contribution in a...
529 plan (tax-free, no seed)
$31,696
Taxable brokerage (after cap. gains tax)
$29,642
$2,054 tax owed on gains
Estimate calculated from the numbers you entered. This is not financial, tax, or legal advice — always consult a qualified professional before making significant financial decisions.
How the Trump Account Calculator works
Trump Accounts launched July 4, 2026 as a new way to save for a child's future, with an automatic federal seed deposit for eligible kids. This tool projects your child's balance at age 18 — when the account converts to a Traditional IRA — and compares it against putting the same monthly contribution into a 529 plan or a regular taxable brokerage account instead.
What drives the difference
All three accounts use the same contribution schedule and the same assumed annual return, so the comparison isolates two things: the $1,000 seed deposit (only the Trump Account gets it), and the tax treatment (the Trump Account and 529 plan both shelter growth from tax each year; the taxable brokerage account doesn't, so this tool applies your specified capital gains rate to its total gain at the end).
The formula
Balance at 18 = seed × (1 + r)ⁿ + monthly contribution compounded monthlyWhere r is your assumed annual return divided by 12, and n is the number of months until the child turns 18. Contributions are applied at the end of each month and the annual total is capped at $5,000 before the projection runs, so entering more than about $417 a month won't increase the result.
Worked example
A newborn with the $1,000 federal seed, $250 a month contributed for 18 years, and a 7% assumed annual return reaches about $111,193 at conversion, against $55,000 put in. The same $250 a month in a 529 plan reaches about $107,680, and in a taxable brokerage account about $107,680 before tax — but a 15% capital gains rate on its $53,680 of growth leaves roughly $99,628.
The gap between the Trump Account and the 529 is $3,513, and that figure is worth understanding: it is exactly the $1,000 seed compounded at 7% for 18 years. The tax treatment of the two is identical in this projection — the entire advantage is the seed. The real decision between them isn't the balance at 18, it's what the money is for: 529 withdrawals are tax-free for qualified education costs, while a Trump Account becomes a Traditional IRA taxed as ordinary income in retirement.
Common mistakes
- Assuming Trump Account growth is tax-free like a 529 — it's tax-deferred, and ordinary income tax applies once withdrawn after it becomes a Traditional IRA.
- Forgetting the $5,000/year limit is combined across every contributor, not $5,000 per person.
- Expecting the $1,000 federal seed for any child — it only applies to children born 2025 through 2028.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Trump Account?
A Trump Account is a new tax-advantaged savings account for children, created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and launched July 4, 2026. Children born between 2025 and 2028 get an automatic $1,000 federal seed deposit. Family, friends, and employers can add up to $5,000 per year combined. The money grows tax-deferred and the account converts into a standard Traditional IRA once the child turns 18.
How is a Trump Account different from a 529 plan?
A 529 plan's growth is completely tax-free when used for qualified education expenses, and many states offer a tax deduction for contributions — but 529s don't get a federal seed deposit and non-education withdrawals face a penalty. A Trump Account grows tax-deferred (not tax-free), gets the $1,000 seed if eligible, and converts to a Traditional IRA at 18 — meaning it's built for retirement, not tuition, and ordinary income tax applies on withdrawal in retirement rather than being fully tax-free.
Why does the taxable brokerage account end up with less money?
Both the Trump Account and a 529 plan let the investment grow without being taxed year to year. A regular taxable brokerage account doesn't have that shelter — this calculator applies a capital gains tax to the account's total investment gains at the end, which is why its after-tax balance is lower even with the exact same contributions and return assumption.
Can I contribute more than $5,000 a year?
No — $5,000 per year is the combined limit from all sources (family, friends, and employer contributions together), indexed for inflation in future years. Employer contributions specifically are capped at $2,500 and count toward, not on top of, that $5,000 total. This calculator automatically caps your monthly contribution at the limit.
Sources
What actually moves this number
Specific levers, and roughly what each one is worth. Not “save more” — the things that change the figure above by an amount you can measure.
Compare against a 529 before committing
For education specifically, a 529 has a long track record and well-understood tax treatment. Run both and compare after-tax outcomes for the use you actually have in mind.
Confirm current rules before projecting decades ahead
The program is still being implemented and details may change. A thirty-year projection built on provisional rules is a scenario, not a plan.
Check how the account affects financial aid
Whose asset an account is counted as can change an aid calculation materially. For education savings this is often worth more than a small difference in tax treatment.
What this calculator does not cover
Every calculator simplifies, and the useful thing is knowing exactly where. These are the specific gaps between this estimate and your real situation:
- Program rules are still being implemented and some details may change. Confirm current terms before relying on a projection.
- Growth is modeled at a constant rate. Actual returns vary, and a long horizon amplifies the difference between the assumed rate and the real one.
- Tax treatment at withdrawal depends on the use of the funds and on rules that differ from 529 plans and custodial accounts.
- It does not compare against the alternatives on an after-tax basis, which is the comparison that usually decides between account types.
For anything that turns on an exact figure, use the primary sources below or a qualified professional. How these limits are decided and disclosed is described in the editorial standards.