Yes, you can open a checking account for your child at most banks, but you’ll need to be listed on it as a joint owner or as a custodian until your child reaches the age of majority. No federal law sets a minimum age for a bank account; each bank sets its own cutoffs, and state law governs how banks contract with minors. The structure you choose shapes who controls the money, who’s exposed to creditors, and even how much financial aid your child may later qualify for.
At What Age a Child Can Have a Checking Account
Federal banking rules don’t prohibit a minor from owning a bank account at any age. Under the USA PATRIOT Act’s Customer Identification Program, when a parent opens an account for a minor the bank treats the parent as its “customer” for identification purposes, but nothing in the program bars the minor from being the account holder.1Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Interagency Interpretive Guidance on Customer Identification Program Requirements Under Section 326 of the USA PATRIOT Act In practice, most banks offer kids’ savings or checking products starting around age five or six and student or teen checking accounts starting around age 13.
The age thresholds come from a mix of bank policy and state law. Most states require an adult co-signer because minors generally lack the legal capacity to enter binding contracts on their own.2Conference of State Bank Supervisors. Statutory Requirements for Opening Bank Accounts for Minors That adult stays on the account until the child reaches adulthood, which is 18 in most states.
Joint Account or Custodial Account
The biggest decision is how to structure the account. The two options carry very different rights and risks.
Joint Account
In a joint account, you and your child are both legal owners with equal rights to the funds. Either of you can deposit, withdraw, or close the account on your own. Most joint accounts operate as joint tenants with right of survivorship, so if one owner dies the other automatically inherits the balance. The setup is simple and gives your child real banking experience.
The main drawback is creditor exposure. Because both names are on the account, a judgment creditor of either account holder may be able to garnish the entire balance. If a parent has an unpaid debt and a creditor obtains a court order, the bank may freeze the joint account, and the burden falls on the non-debtor to prove which funds belong to whom. The risk runs the other way too: if your teenager faces a civil judgment, your deposits in the shared account could be reached. Keeping only modest, operational balances in a joint checking account helps limit that exposure.
Custodial Account Under UTMA or UGMA
A custodial account created under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act or the Uniform Gifts to Minors Act works differently. The money legally belongs to the child, but a designated custodian, usually the parent, manages it on the child’s behalf until the statutory termination age. That age varies by state and is typically 18 or 21, though some states let the donor pick a later age up to 25. Once your child hits the termination age, the custodian must hand over control, and the child has full access with no strings attached.
Transfers into a custodial account are irrevocable gifts. You can’t take the money back or redirect it to another child. The custodian has a fiduciary duty to manage the funds prudently for the minor’s benefit. Because the assets legally belong to the child rather than the parent, custodial accounts also offer stronger protection from a parent’s creditors than joint accounts.
How the Choice Affects Financial Aid
If your child will eventually apply for federal financial aid, the account structure matters. Under the FAFSA methodology, money in a custodial account is treated as the student’s asset and assessed at 20%, meaning every $10,000 in the account could reduce aid eligibility by about $2,000. Money held in a parent’s own account, or in a joint account where the parent is the primary owner, is assessed at a maximum rate of roughly 5.64%. For day-to-day spending money, a joint checking account can soften the financial aid hit, though the legal protections described above still differ.
What You’ll Need to Open It
Federal regulations require banks to collect four pieces of identifying information for every account holder: name, physical address, date of birth, and taxpayer identification number (typically a Social Security number).1Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Interagency Interpretive Guidance on Customer Identification Program Requirements Under Section 326 of the USA PATRIOT Act For a minor’s account, plan on bringing:
- For the child: Social Security number, date of birth, and proof of identity. A birth certificate is the most commonly accepted document.
- For the adult co-signer or custodian: a valid government-issued photo ID such as a driver’s license or passport, your own Social Security number, and proof of your physical address, such as a utility bill or bank statement.
Because identity verification is risk-based, banks have some flexibility with younger children. Some will verify a child’s identity through school records or by having the parent confirm the information rather than requiring a standalone government ID for the minor. If you’re opening a custodial account, make sure the application designates you as the custodian and the child as the account beneficiary, matching the legal structure you intend.
Most banks require an initial opening deposit, commonly ranging from $0 to $100. Teen and student checking accounts are typically marketed with no monthly maintenance fees and no minimum balance requirements, which makes them cheaper to keep open than standard adult accounts.
Parental Controls on Teen Accounts
Accounts designed for minors usually come with parental oversight tools. Common features include setting daily spending limits on the child’s debit card, receiving real-time push notifications when the card is used, and locking or unlocking the card instantly through a mobile app. Some banks also let you block purchases at specific types of merchants, for example gambling or age-restricted establishments, using the merchant category codes built into the card network.
These controls vary a lot from bank to bank. Some institutions offer detailed dashboards for customizing spending categories, scheduling allowances, and reviewing every transaction; others provide only basic alerts. If monitoring matters to you, compare these features before you open the account rather than assuming every teen checking product works the same way.
Who’s on the Hook for Overdrafts
The adult co-signer carries primary legal responsibility for the account. When you sign the account agreement, you enter a binding contract with the bank, including liability for any negative balance. If your child spends more than what’s in the account, the bank will look to you, not your child, because minors generally cannot be held to contractual obligations.
Many teen and student checking accounts are built to prevent overdrafts rather than allow them. They simply decline transactions that would push the balance below zero. Where overdraft fees do apply, they vary by bank, and there is no single federal cap on the amount. Check your specific account agreement to see whether the account blocks overdrafts, charges a fee, or draws from a linked savings account as backup.
Your liability as co-signer stays in place until the account is closed or formally converted to an individual account in your child’s name after they reach adulthood.
Taxes on Interest Your Child Earns
Interest earned in your child’s checking or savings account counts as unearned income, even in small amounts. Two IRS thresholds matter.
If your child’s total unearned income (interest, dividends, and similar earnings) exceeds $1,350 in a tax year, your child may be required to file a federal tax return, or you can elect to report the income on your own return.3Internal Revenue Service. Publication 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information The threshold is adjusted annually for inflation; the $1,350 figure reflects the most recently published IRS guidance.
If your child’s unearned income exceeds $2,700, the excess may be taxed at your marginal tax rate instead of the child’s lower rate under a provision commonly called the kiddie tax. The rule applies to children under 18, and to full-time students under 24 in some cases. To report the income on your own return instead of filing a separate return for your child, the child’s total gross income from interest and dividends must be less than $13,500, and you’ll attach Form 8814 to your return.4Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 553, Tax on a Child’s Investment and Other Unearned Income (Kiddie Tax)
For most children with a simple checking account earning modest interest, the amounts will fall well below either threshold. If your child also has custodial investment accounts or savings bonds, the combined unearned income is worth tracking.
What Happens When Your Child Turns 18
Reaching the age of majority does not automatically close or convert a child’s checking account. At many banks, a teen account simply continues, and some restrictions (such as limits on peer-to-peer payment apps) may be lifted. The parent typically remains a joint account holder unless one of you actively asks for removal.
Your child can keep using the existing account, open a new individual checking account in their own name, or ask the bank to convert the account so the parent is no longer listed. If your child wants to bank independently, they’ll need to visit a branch or contact the bank to remove the joint owner or close the old account and open a new one. There’s no single process; each bank handles the transition differently.
Custodial accounts under UTMA or UGMA follow stricter rules. The custodian is legally required to transfer the assets to the child once they reach the termination age set by state law. After the transfer, the former minor has full control, and the custodian no longer has any authority over the funds.