• Treasury secretary confirms Trump’s dividend plan needs legislation to implement for working families
• Payments could come through tax cuts already passed or direct checks
• Federal government collected $195 billion in tariff revenue during fiscal year 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C. (TDR) — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave an update on President Donald Trump‘s proposal to give $2,000 checks to Americans from tariff revenue, confirming that legislation would be required to hand out the tariff dividends.

Bessent told Fox Business on Sunday that working families are likely to see a pay bump in the first quarter of next year due to planned tax cuts on tips, overtime and Social Security. “We are going to see a big bump in the first quarter with the refunds and the real income. President Trump has also talked about sending $2,000 refunds, and that would be for working families, we will have an income limit, those could go out,” Bessent said.

“We will see,” Bessent said on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures. “We need legislation for that.”

Multiple forms of dividend possible

Freedom-Loving Beachwear by Red Beach Nation - Save 10% With Code RVM10

Bessent previously told ABC News that the $2,000 tariff dividend proposed by Trump could come in “lots of forms,” adding: “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.”

The treasury secretary emphasized that Americans should start feeling economic relief in early 2026. “So I would expect in the first two quarters we are going to see the inflation curve bend down and the real income curve substantially accelerate,” he said.

Trump, who has touted the billions raised in U.S. tariff revenue this year, has talked about the checks as public frustration mounts over the cost of living. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Friday, Trump said the checks would go out sometime next year to “everybody but the rich.”

“It’s a lot of money,” he said. “But we’ve taken in a lot of money from tariffs. The tariffs allow us to give a dividend.” He added that “we’re also going to be reducing debt.”

Budget challenges and costs

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE THE DUPREE REPORT

The plan could cost the U.S. government double what it’s projected to take in for 2025, according to one estimate. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a centrist watchdog group, estimated a preliminary $600 billion cost for the proposal if the dividends were designed along the lines of government stimulus payments during the COVID pandemic.

Net U.S. tariff revenue for the fiscal year through September totaled $195 billion, and many economists have penciled in about $300 billion for calendar-year 2025. The federal government collected $195 billion in customs duties in Fiscal Year 2025, more than double the $77 billion collected in 2024.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that Trump remains “committed” to sending each American a $2,000 dividend check to be distributed from tariff revenue. “The president made it clear he wants to make it happen,” Leavitt told reporters at the White House. “So his team of economic advisers are looking into it.”

Income qualifications unclear

It’s not entirely clear who would get a check. Trump, in Truth Social posts, suggested they’d be for low- and middle-income Americans only. Bessent said Sunday the checks would be for working families and have an income limit.

The pandemic-era stimulus checks enacted by Trump were made available to individuals bringing in as much as $75,000 per year and couples earning up to $150,000. Beyond those benchmarks, higher earners were eligible for smaller payments. Last year, median U.S. household income was $83,730, the Census Bureau found.

Economic concerns raised

Any payout would, like past stimulus checks, run the risk of goosing inflation — just as the administration says it’s on the verge of bringing prices down and raising Americans’ purchasing power.

The Congressional Budget Office projected that tariff increases implemented between January 6 and August 19, 2025, will decrease primary deficits by $3.3 trillion if the higher tariffs persist through 2035. However, those revenues are already being used to offset tax cuts in Trump’s signature policy bill passed earlier this year.

No matter what, Congress would have to authorize any payments, creating a legislative hurdle for the administration’s proposal as lawmakers balance competing priorities in upcoming budget negotiations.

Should tariff revenue be used for direct payments to citizens or applied to deficit reduction?

Freedom-Loving Beachwear by Red Beach Nation - Save 10% With Code RVM10