What to know about Trump's promise of $2,000 tariff dividend payments

President Donald Trump implicit the play vowed to supply each American a $2,000 dividend to beryllium distributed from what helium said was tariff revenue.

"A dividend of astatine slightest $2000 a idiosyncratic (not including precocious income people!) volition beryllium paid to everyone,” the president wrote connected societal media Sunday, successful part.

Within hours, however, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent formed uncertainty connected the plan, saying the payout could simply notation to taxation savings enshrined by Trump’s signature home spending measure.

A tariff dividend whitethorn travel “in tons of forms,” Bessent told ABC News’ “This Week” connected Sunday, adding that helium had not spoken with Trump astir the proposal.

The thought of a imaginable tariff dividend – reminiscent of pandemic-era stimulus checks – has raised questions astir who would suffice and what to marque of the Trump administration’s mixed signals astir the proposal. Some economists questioned whether the dividend is achievable with disposable tariff funds.

Here’s what to cognize astir the projected $2,000 tariff dividends.

What is simply a dividend?

The word “dividend” typically describes a payout to idiosyncratic shareholders, funded by a company's profits.

In this case, the conception functions successful a akin fashion, indicating payouts to Americans that are funded by taxation raised by Trump’s far-reaching tariffs.

The connection mirrors the 3 stimulus checks mailed to Americans during the pandemic, 2 of which were authorized by Trump. Those 3 payments totaled arsenic overmuch arsenic $3,200 per taxation filer, arsenic good arsenic $2,500 per child, according to the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, a watchdog established by Congress.

What did Trump accidental astir a imaginable $2,000 tariff dividend?

Trump announced the argumentation connection successful a little connection connected societal media connected Sunday morning, focused connected tariff-related taxation revenue.

“People that are against Tariffs are FOOLS! We are present the Richest, Most Respected Country In the World, With Almost No Inflation, and A Record Stock Market Price. 401k’s are Highest EVER,” the president wrote. “A dividend of astatine slightest $2000 a idiosyncratic (not including precocious income people!) volition beryllium paid to everyone.”

The connection did not specify who would suffice for the payout oregon however the argumentation would operate.

The United States Supreme Court gathering is seen arsenic successful Washington, October 4, 2023.

Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters, Files

Who would suffice for the $2,000 dividend?

It is not wide who would suffice for the payout, though Trump said the measurement would exclude “high income people.”

The pandemic-era stimulus checks enacted by Trump were made disposable to individuals bringing successful arsenic overmuch arsenic $75,000 per twelvemonth 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.

Did Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent formed uncertainty connected the dividend checks?

Hours aft Trump’s announcement, Treasury Secretary Bessent appeared to propulsion acold h2o connected the likelihood of tariff-related dividend checks.

On Sunday, Bessent suggested the $2,000 savings whitethorn alternatively beryllium rooted successful taxation cuts antecedently enshrined by Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill legislation, which helium signed into instrumentality connected July 4.

“It could beryllium conscionable the taxation decreases that we are seeing connected the president’s agenda. No taxation connected tips, nary taxation connected overtime, nary taxation connected Social Security, deductibility connected car loans. Those are important deductions that are being financed successful the taxation bill,” Bessent told ABC News' "This Week" Sunday.

“The existent extremity of tariffs is to rebalance commercialized and marque it much fair,” Bessent added.

The dueling remarks from Trump and Bessent travel days aft the Supreme Court heard arguments astir whether a president has the law authorization to unilaterally levy tariffs. Arguing connected behalf of the Trump administration, Solicitor General John Sauer downplayed the revenue-raising constituent of the policy, saying the tariffs bash not encroach upon the taxing powerfulness afforded to Congress nether the Constitution.

“The information that [the tariffs] rise gross is lone incidental,” Sauer told the justices.

Has the U.S. raised capable tariff gross to money $2,000 checks?

If Trump were to marque the dividend payments disposable to anyone earning $100,000 oregon less, the argumentation would scope astir 150 cardinal Americans, amounting to astir $300 cardinal successful dividends, Erica York, a argumentation adept astatine the Tax Foundation, said successful a post on X.

As of Sept. 30, the national authorities had generated $195 cardinal successful tariff-related revenue, according to the Treasury Department.

By that math, the estimated $300 cardinal outgo of the dividend cheque connection would acold transcend the magnitude of presently disposable tariff revenue.

When factoring successful lone gross generated by Trump’s caller levies and deducting immoderate antagonistic budgetary interaction from those policies, York estimated nett tariff revenues of lone $90 billion, falling adjacent shorter of the $300 cardinal required.

Moreover, depending connected however the Supreme Court whitethorn regularisation regarding Trump's ineligible authorization to levy tariffs, the White House whitethorn beryllium forced to instrumentality tens of billions of dollars successful gross to importers who paid the tax, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget found.

In theory, however, the Trump medication could committedness to wage the dividend from anticipated tariff revenue. The Treasury Department has forecast $3 trillion successful tariff gross implicit the adjacent decade. Should the Trump medication take that route, the dividend payments would adhd the national debt, which presently stands astatine implicit $38 trillion, according to the Treasury Department.