What growth rate does this calculator assume?

A 7% average annual return on both accounts, so the comparison isolates the effect of taxes rather than investment performance.

Does this calculator account for employer contributions or charitable deposits?

No — it models your own annual contribution plus the $1,000 government seed, kept simple so you can see the tax-treatment gap clearly. Employer and charitable deposits would add more to the Trump Account side, but they're also taxed as ordinary income on withdrawal, same as the seed.

Personal Finance

Trump Account vs 529 Calculator

Set your annual contribution, years until your kid needs the money, and the tax bracket it'll be withdrawn at. The calculator compares the spendable-for-college value of a Trump Account (basis tax-free, seed and growth taxed as ordinary income) against a 529 plan (100% tax-free for qualified education expenses).

Interactive · set your situation

Trump Account vs. 529, spendable for college

Your annual contribution$2,000

Years until your kid needs it18

Tax bracket when withdrawn22%

The 529 plan wins — by about $4,403 spendable for college, even after the Trump Account's free $1,000 seed.

529 plan — tax-free for qualified education$67,998

Trump Account — after ordinary-income tax$63,595

Both sides assume the same $2,000/yr contribution growing at 7% annually. The Trump Account also gets a one-time $1,000 government seed, but its basis (your contributions) is the only part that comes out tax-free — the seed and all growth are taxed as ordinary income at your chosen bracket. The 529's qualified education withdrawals are 100% tax-free, with no seed money of its own.

Frequently Asked Questions

Because a 529's qualified education withdrawals are 100% tax-free, while a Trump Account only shelters your own after-tax contributions (the basis) — the $1,000 seed and every dollar of investment growth are taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn, which usually outweighs the free seed over any meaningful time horizon.

Embed this tool on your site

Free to embed — just copy the snippet below and paste it into your page.

<iframe src="https://www.sujitkarki.com.np/tools/trump-account-vs-529" title="Trump Account vs 529 Calculator" width="100%" height="720" style="border:1px solid #e5e7eb;border-radius:12px;" loading="lazy"></iframe>