President Donald Trump has reintroduced the idea of a stimulus-style payment to Americans, funded by revenue generated by tariffs on foreign imports.
“A dividend of at least $2,000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone,” Trump wrote on Truth social.
Details of the payments are scarce, however, and would likely require Congressional approval. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he has not discussed the idea with the president, adding there were no specific proposals in the works.
“It could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president’s agenda. No tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security, deductibility on auto loans. Those are substantial deductions that are being financed in the tax bill,” Bessent said.
READ MORE: Stimulus check 2025: Trump promises $2,000 tariff payment, what you need to know
It’s likely any payments would be similar to the series of three checks issued during the COVID-19 pandemic, which were capped based on income. Income limits for those payments were $150,000 for families, $112,500 for heads of household and $75,000 for individuals. People whose incomes passed those levels received reduced payments.
Americans received three stimulus checks during the COVID pandemic. The first round was paid in April 2020 and included up to $1,200 per eligible adult and $500 per qualifying child. The second round, paid in December 2020, was up to $600 per person and the third, issued in March 2021, was up to $1,400 per individual.
How much would the $2,000 payments cost the US?
According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, if payments were made to adults and children, each round of payments would cost about $600 billion. Currently, Trump’s tariffs have raised $100 billion so far and are projected to raise about $300 billion a year.
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