How many people have signed up for Trump child savings accounts
Executive summary
The clearest, attributable figure in official reporting is that “approximately 500,000” Americans have elected to open Trump Accounts for their children, according to a Treasury Department statement [1]. That reported number comes amid projections and political messaging — including a separate Treasury official’s prediction of 25 million eventual users — and must be read alongside technical limits on when accounts can actually be funded and how elections are made [2] [3] [4].
1. The simple answer: what the government says right now
The Treasury’s January 28, 2026 statement asserts that “approximately 500,000 Americans have elected to open a Trump Account for their children” in the first days of the 2026 tax season, a figure the department repeats in its public release [1]. That is the only explicit numerical count in the supplied reporting and is the de facto answer available from official sources at this time [1].
2. Why that number needs context: elections versus funded accounts
The “elected to open” language used by Treasury refers to the election process — generally filing IRS Form 4547 or using an upcoming Treasury portal — rather than to accounts that have received money, because rules forbid contributions before July 4, 2026 [5] [3] [4]. Several tax and financial advisers note the form and enrollment tools were not yet finalized or available at the time of the early reporting, meaning an election can be recorded via tax filings even though the pilot deposits and other contributions cannot be made until mid-2026 [5] [6] [7].
3. Competing claims and political framing
Treasury messaging and the White House-aligned site trumpaccounts.gov emphasize large-scale adoption and the program’s benefits, framing the account rollout as already “building long-term financial security for millions of children” [8]. Separately, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent forecasted up to 25 million Americans eventually taking advantage of the program — a projection, not a documented current enrollment total [2]. Those optimistic projections coexist with a formal reported snapshot of roughly 500,000 early elections [1] [2].
4. What independent and industry sources add (and the limits they acknowledge)
Financial firms and legal advisories such as Charles Schwab, Vanguard, Fidelity, Benefits Law Advisor, and law firms have published explainer pieces noting that elections will be made via Form 4547 or an online portal and that many specifics remain subject to IRS and Treasury regulations and forthcoming guidance; they also reiterate contributions cannot be made before July 4, 2026 [3] [7] [9] [5] [10]. Those providers do not offer alternative, independently audited enrollment counts, and their reporting underscores that the official “500,000” figure currently stands unchallenged in the public record [3] [7].
5. How to interpret the numbers going forward — caveats for readers
The 500,000 figure should be treated as an early, government-sourced snapshot of elections, not an audited tally of active, funded accounts; the program’s mechanics allow elections to be recorded with tax filings before money moves, and final regulatory forms and the funding window open only mid-2026 [1] [5] [4]. Political messaging from Treasury and Trump-aligned sites projecting millions of users is forward-looking and promotional; independent verification of that scale will require later data releases or third-party audits once accounts begin receiving deposits and administrative records stabilize [8] [2].