The Trump Administration is considering the feasibility of paying a tariff dividend, but nothing’s been decided. In fact, President Trump said on Friday that any such dividend wouldn’t be paid until next year. But social media outlets are awash with rumors that the IRS has already begun making direct deposits into taxpayers’ accounts.
Online searches for “direct deposit IRS” and “$2,000 tariff dividend” have also spiked, as have phishing texts, emails, and posts from scammers posing as IRS agents seeking routing and bank account numbers for the forthcoming deposits.
The IRS will never contact you by text, DM or random email and never click on links in unsolicited messages claiming to be from the IRS.
MORE INFORMATION:
The IRS newsroom for November includes routine tax updates only. There is nothing on the webpage about new stimulus checks or an “IRS relief payment 2025.”
The $2,000 “tariff dividend” is a proposal, not an approved stimulus program. The White House said on November 12 that the administration is exploring it and President Trump said on November 15 that any such payments would occur “sometime next year” and on Monday he promised the dividend checks will be issued by mid-2026, ahead of the crucial midterm elections.
Government-issued checks were popular for President Trump during the pandemic.
Congress hasn’t approved new stimulus checks and the IRS has issued no November 2025 deposit schedule. On Sunday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent acknowledged that “[w]e need legislation for that.”
There would be an income limit on the payments. According to Treasury Secretary Bessent, tariff dividends would only be paid to taxpayers earning $100,000 or less.
That would encompass 150 Americans and require an outlay of $300 billion compared to the $195 billion that the government in tariff-related revenue the government has collected in fiscal 2025.
Also problematic is the case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the President’s authority to issue across-the-board tariffs. If the Court overrules the President’s ability to levy some or all of the tariffs, the government could be required to refund those tariffs found to be illegal, thereby depriving the government of the revenue source from which to fund the tariff dividends.
Discussions are evolving.
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