- New Treasury rules have expanded Trump Accounts to allow certain donated company shares, while more than 60 million eligible children now have automatically created accounts.
Trump Accounts are expanding beyond their original index-fund structure, giving philanthropists a new way to place individual company shares into investment accounts for children. The change was highlighted by The Wall Street Journal, which said the Treasury Department has opened the program to qualified stock donations. The development comes less than a week after Treasury completed automatic enrollment for more than 60 million eligible children.
The change could make Trump Accounts more visible in the broader stock market because children could ultimately receive shares of specific publicly traded companies rather than only broad-market investments. But the rules are narrower than a general permission for parents to buy individual stocks inside the accounts.
How Individual Stocks Can Enter Trump Accounts
Trump Accounts, formally created under Section 530A of the tax code, are a type of traditional individual retirement account established for eligible children. Under the Treasury and IRS regulations issued Sept. 30, qualified general contributions can include certain publicly traded stock. The Treasury acceptance process requires information about the stock issuer, the number of shares, and other details.
The regulations generally require qualified donated shares to remain in the account for five years or until the end of the account's growth period, whichever comes first. There are limited exceptions, including certain corporate transactions and situations involving the end of the growth period.
The new stock provision does not mean parents can simply select individual stocks for their children instead of using the program's standard investment structure. The Securities and Exchange Commission says Trump Accounts currently have investment options centered on low-cost mutual funds and ETFs that track broad US equity indexes. That makes the donated-stock provision a separate route for philanthropic contributions.
The first major example came earlier this year when SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell and her husband announced plans to give one share of SpaceX stock to Trump Accounts for more than 2 million children. The gift is targeted primarily at children ages 11 to 17 in lower-income areas, according to Shotwell's announcement.
The contribution was valued at roughly $320 million when it was announced in July, based on the then-current valuation of SpaceX shares. The stock-donation mechanism could allow other wealthy individuals, charities and organizations to make similar contributions, although each contribution must satisfy Treasury's requirements.
More Than 60 Million Children Now Have Accounts
The stock-rule expansion follows an even larger change to the Trump Accounts program. Treasury announced Oct. 1 that automatic enrollment was complete, giving every eligible child under 18 with a valid Social Security number an account if one had not already been established.
The Treasury Department said more than 60 million additional eligible children now have an account ready to be claimed. Automatic enrollment, however, does not mean every child automatically receives the program's $1,000 federal contribution.
The IRS says the one-time $1,000 pilot contribution is available for qualifying US citizens born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028, who have valid Social Security numbers. A parent or another authorized person must make the required election.
Treasury also says a parent or guardian must claim an automatically created account before family members, friends, or employers can contribute to it. The account structure therefore has two separate stages: the federal government can establish the account automatically, but families still need to take action to claim and manage it.
The IRS Trump Account guidance says parents, guardians, and other authorized individuals can establish accounts for eligible children. The annual contribution limit for regular contributions is generally $5,000, subject to the program's rules and future inflation adjustments.
The program is designed to encourage long-term investing rather than short-term trading. That makes the account different from a conventional brokerage account and more closely connected to index fund investing and long-term compounding.
For parents, the potential benefit is time. Money invested during childhood can have decades to compound before the beneficiary reaches adulthood and beyond. But investment returns are not guaranteed, and individual stocks can carry considerably more company-specific risk than diversified funds.
The SEC's investor guidance notes that Trump Accounts are subject to special rules governing contributions, investments, and distributions while the child is in the program's growth period. The broader wealth-building question is therefore how families use the accounts alongside other financial tools rather than treating them as a complete investment strategy. Building wealth typically involves diversification, consistent saving and a long investment horizon.
The new rules nevertheless mark a significant expansion of the program. Trump Accounts are no longer limited to a government-funded seed contribution and standard index-based investments. They can also serve as a vehicle for qualifying philanthropic stock donations, potentially putting individual company shares into millions of children's accounts.
For now, the biggest changes are the scale of enrollment and the new stock-contribution pathway. The rules do not require children to own individual stocks, and automatic enrollment does not by itself put $1,000 into every account. Those distinctions will matter as families begin claiming the accounts and as additional donors consider using the program.