Trump Accounts advance

House Republicans have opened a new push to make the federal $1,000 “Trump Accounts” seed deposit permanent instead of ending it after children born in 2028. (govtrack.us) Rep. Adrian Smith of Nebraska introduced H.R. 8313 on April 15, with Reps. Blake Moore of Utah and Brian Jack of Georgia as cosponsors, and the bill was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee the same day. (govtrack.us) The bill would strike the January 1, 2029 cutoff for the contribution pilot and add an inflation adjustment to the $1,000 amount for tax years after 2028, rounded to the next $100. (govinfo.gov) Trump Accounts are a new kind of traditional individual retirement account for children, created by the 2025 tax law, with contributions scheduled to begin on July 4, 2026. (crsreports.congress.gov, irs.gov) Under current law, a child can qualify for the federal deposit only if the child is a U.S. citizen with a Social Security number and is born from January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2028, and a parent or other eligible adult files an election. (irs.gov) The account is broader than a standard retirement account in one key way: during childhood, anyone can contribute, and the annual combined limit is $5,000 in 2026 rather than the $7,500 limit that applies to regular traditional individual retirement accounts. (crsreports.congress.gov) The money is not supposed to be steered into a branded strategy. Congressional Research Service says savings during the child’s “growth period” must go into a diversified index fund of U.S. stocks and must minimize fees and expenses. (crsreports.congress.gov) That design has not eliminated practical questions. Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service proposed rules on March 6 for how parents make the election, who counts as an eligible child, and how new Form 4547 will be used to establish an account and request the $1,000 deposit. (irs.gov, federalregister.gov) Treasury added another operational detail on April 6, naming Bank of New York Mellon as financial agent for the initial accounts and saying Robinhood will provide brokerage and initial trustee services through a government-controlled app. (home.treasury.gov) Industry groups covering retirement plans say the next fight is less about whether the accounts exist than about how they are administered, how contributions from employers and charities are handled, and how a permanent federal seed deposit fits into the rest of the retirement system. (asppa-net.org, napa-net.org) Critics have argued the program will face scrutiny over fees, suitability and politics because it puts a president’s name on a tax-favored savings product, while supporters say the federal deposit gives families a simple way to start investing at birth. (washingtonpost.com, home.treasury.gov) For now, the permanent version is still only a bill. The temporary version is the law on the books, and the first contributions are still set to start on July 4, 2026. (govtrack.us, irs.gov)