How the Dell $250 was decided
Michael and Susan Dell pledged $6.25 billion to put $250 into the Trump Accounts of 25 million children born between 2016 and 2024. The choice was made by ZIP code, not by your family’s own income: it started with the lowest-income ZIPs and expanded until 25 million children were reached.
Sources: Invest America: Dell $250 (opens in a new tab), Federal Register 2026-20026 (opens in a new tab) · checked
Family income is not household income
The line uses the Census Bureau’s median family income for the ZIP area (American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, table B19113). “Family” income is not the same as “household” income, so a household-income number you find elsewhere for your ZIP won’t match. Our check reads the same family-income table, for every ZIP Code Tabulation Area.
Sources: Invest America: Dell $250 (opens in a new tab), Census ACS B19113 (opens in a new tab), Census Reporter B19113 (opens in a new tab) · checked
Why the line moved from $150,000 to $115,000
The first announcement used $150,000. After automatic enrollment on Oct 1, 2026 raised the number of eligible children, the final line became $115,000. Invest America: “If you claimed a Trump Account or submitted Form 4547 before October 1, your child remains eligible under the rules that applied at that time. You do not need to take any additional action.”
Sources: Invest America: Dell $250 (opens in a new tab), Treasury, Oct 1, 2026 (opens in a new tab) · checked
Military bases and foster care
All eligible children living on military bases were also included. Money is reserved for children in foster care; the details are still being determined and are expected next year.
Source: Invest America: Dell $250 (opens in a new tab) · checked
When it arrives, and how to see it
Invest America: “All deposits are expected to be made by the end of the day Friday, October 9. Check your child’s Trump Account early the following week.” You don’t need to claim the account for the money to arrive, but you must claim it to see the balance. The Dell $250 does not count toward the $5,000 yearly limit.
Sources: Invest America: Dell $250 (opens in a new tab), Federal Register 2026-20026 (opens in a new tab), Help Center: Claim an account (opens in a new tab), 26 U.S.C. § 530A (opens in a new tab) · checked
Limits of this estimate
- Unverified: the official list of included ZIPs is not published, so this is an estimate from the same Census table.
- The ZIP Treasury has on file for your child may differ from the one you type.
- Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas only approximate USPS ZIP codes; some ZIPs are not in the data or have no estimate.
- Census estimates have a margin of error; we flag results that fall within it as “close to the line”.
- “$250,000+” is how Census shows the highest incomes (top-coded).
Want the $1,000 seed answer and the claim steps too? Use the full Trump Account checker. Method details are on Method & sources.
Facts checked .