On November 18, 2025, President Donald Trump announced that middle and low-income American citizens may receive a $2000 “tariff dividend check” in the second half of 2026. This tax refund plan needs to be legislated by Congress before implementation.
Trump stated at a press conference in the Oval Office of the White House that the government plans to distribute tax refund checks to “middle and low-income families,” with distribution expected to start “around mid-next year or later.”
This is the first time Trump has provided a clear and specific timeline since proposing the idea of returning tariff revenues to taxpayers on November 10. Trump claimed that the tariffs imposed by the United States have already brought in “tens of billions of dollars in revenue,” some of which will be used to reduce the current $37 trillion national debt.
According to Trump, the funding for this comes from import tariffs imposed on multiple countries under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). This action is currently under review by the Supreme Court to clarify whether the president can use emergency economic powers to set tariffs.
Republican Senator Josh Hawley introduced related legislation in July, suggesting that tariff revenues should be returned to taxpayers through legislation. He stated that after experiencing policies under the Biden administration that have harmed family savings and livelihoods over the past four years, Americans “deserve tax refunds.”
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed on the “Fox News Sunday” program on the 17th that the tax refund checks need to be legislated by Congress to be implemented, targeted towards “working families,” with an income cap set. He emphasized that “President Trump is committed to giving money back to families.”
However, this idea has also raised questions from experts. The non-partisan think tank, Tax Foundation, released a statement in July pointing out that if the government returns tariff revenues to the public, it may not only weaken fiscal stability but also pose risks of inflation. The foundation believes that these funds should be used to reduce the fiscal deficit, rather than being distributed in check form.
The organization estimated that tariffs could bring in approximately $23 trillion in tax revenue for the United States over the next decade, but after accounting for the negative impact on economic growth, the actual net income is estimated to decrease to $18 trillion.
If this legislation ultimately passes, the Tax Foundation indicates that the operation of the tax refund checks will be similar to the stimulus checks distributed during the pandemic.