Do not start with a duplicate form. Treasury began broad automatic enrollment on or about October 1, 2026. Check official account and pilot-election status first.
Privacy boundary: this guide does not collect or submit a name, SSN, date of birth, address, account number, or taxpayer information.

What Form 4547 still does

Form 4547 remains relevant for two separate purposes: making the $1,000 pilot contribution election for an eligible child, and making an account election in a rare case where Treasury has not already made one. Treasury expects periodic auto enrollment to eliminate the need for most manual account elections.

Step 1: check official status

Determine whether Treasury has established an auto account, whether someone previously made an account election, and whether a pilot election is pending or processed. An unknown or pending status should be resolved before another submission.

Step 2: distinguish an auto-account claim from Form 4547

Claiming an auto account uses Treasury’s electronic claim process. A guardian or legal custodian with authority under state law to manage the beneficiary’s property or financial affairs—or a beneficiary with legal capacity—must authenticate identity, prove authority, and complete required consents. A family relationship by itself may not establish the required legal authority.

Step 3: review the pilot requirements

  • The child generally must be a U.S. citizen born from January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2028.
  • The child must have an employment-valid SSN issued before the election and meet the account age requirement.
  • The person making the pilot election must expect the child to be their qualifying child for the election year.
  • Check whether an earlier pilot election was processed; treat a merely submitted election as pending until official status is known.

Step 4: use the manual-account election only when instructed

If the IRS confirms that no account or prior election exists, follow the current instructions to determine whether a rare manual Form 4547 account election is appropriate. Do not rely on pre-auto-enrollment articles as the current default process.

Step 5: complete activation

A Form 4547 account election, or a claim for an auto account, does not by itself finish establishing the receiving account. Follow the trustee’s instructions and sign the account agreement. Family and employer contributions should wait until the receiving account is established and ready to receive them.

Run the private next-step check

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