Jan. 30, 2026, 2:31 p.m. CT
When could Americans get a $2,000 tariff dividend check from the government? President Donald Trump announced the payments last fall on Truth Social. Since then, he and his administration have provided changing, at times conflicting, information about what citizens could expect and when.
Trump said in the fall that many Americans should get checks from tariff income in mid-2026. A January update provided during an interview with the New York Times moves that timeline later in the year.
In the meantime, people are getting scam emails or texts saying they “must act” to secure the money. The funds haven’t been approved yet, and there are still several roadblocks before you might see a check.
Challenges to the checks being sent include cost concerns, confusion over whether Congress has to approve the payments and a pending Supreme Court decision that could force the tariff income to be refunded to businesses and individuals.
Here’s what we know about the proposal so far, what you need to know to keep your data safe.
Congress could have to approve $2K checks
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent specified in November that Congress would need to pass legislation to release the funds and determine how and when people could get the money.
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett also said on Dec. 21 that tariff dividend checks will need congressional approval.
“Congress is going to have to send those money to those peoples,” Hassett said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.” He said it would have to be an appropriation.
He expected Trump to bring a proposal to Congress in 2026.
In the NYT interview, Trump said he thinks the money can be sent without Congress’s OK because “we have it coming from other sources.” He did not explain how or what those sources were.
In a Jan. 20 press briefing, he reiterated that there could be an alternative option.
“We will be able to make a very substantial dividend to the people of our country. I believe we can do that without Congress,” Trump said.
Supreme Court could make US refund tariff money
The Supreme Court should issue a ruling soon in a case that will determine whether the tariffs set by the president are constitutional. If they determine they’re illegal, the government might have to give back billions of dollars to businesses and citizens who paid them.
Trump declared a national emergency over the country’s trade deficit under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to enact most of his tariffs.
Most of the Supreme Court justices expressed skepticism of the use of emergency powers during oral arguments on Nov. 5.
In a Jan. 12 Truth Social post, Trump argued it would be a financial disaster to have to pay back “many Hundreds of Billion of Dollars.” He said the total would expand to trillions when including investments foreign companies are making to build in the U.S. to avoid paying the import taxes.
In a Nov. 16 interview with Bessent, Fox News host Maria Bartiromo asked about the backup plan if the Supreme Court rules against the tariffs.
He said the Supreme Court is unlikely to rule against the current plan because it’s one of Trump’s signature policies. The Treasury secretary also called it an emergency authority and said several peace deals rely on the tariffs. Bessent said the challenge to issue the refunds could be another determining factor.
$2,000 checks could cost US more than a year of tariff income
The president said in a Jan. 5, Truth Social post, that the nation “taken in, and will soon be receiving, more than 600 Billion Dollars in Tariffs, but the Fake News Media refuses to talk about it because they hate and disrespect our Country, and want to interfere with the upcoming Tariff decision, one of the most important ever, of the United States Supreme Court.”
Those numbers don’t match what his administration released.
The U.S. reportedly collected more than $200 billion in tariffs from Jan. 20 to Dec. 15 because of more than 40 executive orders signed by Trump, according to information from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Additionally, cost estimates from three nonpartisan groups indicated that dividend payments could add to more than the revenue from tariffs over the course of a year. Two analyses put the price tag over $600 billion.
The Trump administration previously said the tariffs could generate up to $300 billion per year.
The nonpartisan Tax Foundation considered three possible structures for the checks. The most conservative only gave the funds to people who earn less than $100,000. All three scenarios outpaced anticipated tariff income for 2025, with price tags ranging from $279.8 billion to $606.8 billion.
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget cautioned that $2,000 dividends sent based on CARES Act eligibility requirements could cost about $600 billion. The group questions whether the plan is to pay the dividend once or annually, and they argue it would prevent funds from being used to pay down the national debt or offset other spending needs.
The Budget Lab at Yale had a lower estimate that still outpaces the largest estimated tariff income, putting the cost around $450 billion.
What else has Trump, the White House said about tariff checks?
Trump first announced the checks in a post on his social media platform in the fall.
“A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone,” Trump posted to Truth Social on Nov. 9. Earlier in 2025, the president said his administration was considering a rebate plan but he preferred to focus on reducing the national debt, which currently exceeds $38 trillion.
His administration has been releasing more information on the plan since then.
Bessent said later in the day on Nov. 9 that he hadn’t spoken with Trump about the proposal and the funds could come back to Americans in a format other than a check during an interview with George Stephanopoulos on “This Week”, according to ABC News reporting.
“You know, it could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president’s agenda — you know, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security, deductibility of auto loans,” Bessent said.
Trump described it as issuing a dividend of about $2,000 when talking in the Oval Office on Nov. 10.
“And we’ll use the remaining tariffs to lower our debt,” he added. “We’re going to be lowering our debt, which is a national security thing.”
Days later, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “The White House is committed to making that happen, yes, and we are currently exploring all legal options to get that done.”
Will I get a $2,000 tariff check? Who is eligible?
Official eligibility requirements haven’t been set.
All U.S. residents won’t qualify, according to the proposal so far. The president said “individuals of moderate income, middle income” could expect dividends while speaking with reporters in the Oval Office on Nov. 17.
Calculations from the Committee for a Responsible Government assumed the payments would be structured like COVID-19-era Economic Impact Payments.
In Trump’s first term, the 2020 CARES Act arranged for payments for adults with smaller disbursements for kids. To be eligible for the maximum amount, individual taxpayers could earn up to $75,000. It was $150,000 for joint income tax filers.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 18% of Mississippi residents live in poverty. The median household income in the state is $54,915, and the average income per person is $30,529.
When could I get $2K tariff dividend check?
When asked about when Americans might see a $2,000 tariff dividend check check during the NYT interview on Jan. 7, at first Trump said, “I did do (promise) that? When did I do that?”
He later revised his answer to “I would say toward the end of the year.”
So far, the $2,000 checks have not been proposed in official legislation. There is no timeline on when or if Congress might address the issue, and Trump now says the checks might be issued without congressional approval.
Earlier in 2025, the president also said that taxpayers might get a $5,000 cut of savings realized by the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE, however, fell short of the savings required by the proposal.
U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, introduced the American Worker Rebate Act of 2025 in July after Trump floated a $600 tariff rebate. The proposal has not advanced out of committee.
How can I get the tariff funds?
We don’t know how to claim the money yet. Previous stimulus checks were issued based on tax filings.
Don’t give any personal or sensitive information like banking data or your Social Security number to a third-party site saying you should “act now.” They will not have access to money from the U.S. Treasury and don’t need to access your bank.
The Internal Revenue Service encourages people to report scam messages at: https://www.irs.gov/help/report-fraud/report-fake-irs-treasury-or-tax-related-emails-and-messages
If and or when the checks or approved, official information on how to claim or access the funds should come from U.S. government sources, like Congress, the Internal Revenue Service or the Treasury.
Contributing: Francesca Chambers, Bebe Hodges, Diana Leyva, Jordan Green, Gabe Huari, Mike Snider, Daniel de Visé, Margie Cullen
Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with USA TODAY Network. Email her at bbolden@gannett.com.