Wondering about the status on new stimulus check 2025? As of Wednesday, Nov. 12, White House press secretary Karoline Levitt said President Donald Trump remains “committed” to a $2000 tariff rebate dividend payment for most Americans. Here’s when and what to know.
“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.”
Leavitt said White House officials are exploring ways to execute Trump’s tariff dividend payment plan that he announced would be distributed from tariff revenue. Her comments came in contrast to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s earlier comments about how such a plan might work.
Bessent said in an ABC News interview on Sunday, Nov. 9, that Trump’s proposed tariff divided “could come in lots of forms.” Adding, “It could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president’s agenda: no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security, deductibility of auto loans,” he said. “So those are substantial deductions that are being financed in the tax bill.”
On Saturday, Nov. 8, Trump posted on his Truth Social account, “I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE.”
The next day, Sunday, Nov. 9, the president followed up and said on his social media account, “People that are against Tariffs are FOOLS! We are now the Richest, Most Respected Country In the World, With Almost No Inflation, and A Record Stock Market Price. 401k’s are Highest EVER. We are taking in Trillions of Dollars and will soon begin paying down our ENORMOUS DEBT, $37 Trillion. Record Investment in the USA, plants and factories going up all over the place.”
“A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone,” He added.
A few hours later Trump went on to say in another post, “Republicans should give money DIRECTLY to your personal HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS that I expanded in our GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL.”
Here’s what to know about stimulus checks, rebates, and dividends.
Are we getting a stimulus check in 2025?
Similar to this week’s new idea for a $2,000 tariff dividend check, Trump previously floated floated the idea of using part of the government revenue being generated by the new tariffs and returning it to taxpayers of a certain income level in the form of a rebate check, similar to the stimulus checks sent during the pandemic, back in July.
That tariff rebate check idea was then introduced in a bill by Sen. Josh Hawley, called the American Worker Rebate Act of 2025, that would send checks between $600 to $2,400 to American taxpayer families. However, it has not passed through Congress as of yet.
Earlier this year in February, Trump also said he would consider the plan to pay out $5,000 stimulus checks to taxpayers in the form of a “DOGE dividend” during a summit in Miami. He explained it as using part of the 20% of the savings identified by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and giving it back to taxpayers. However, he has not shared any further specifics or details about the possible “DOGE dividend” or its certainty since then.
There were three prior stimulus checks tied to COVID-era stimulus programs, the third and last of which had an April 15, 2025 deadline to claim. The opportunities to claim or file for the first stimulus payment (issued in March and April 2020) or the second stimulus check (issued by Jan. 15, 2021) or the third stimulus check (issued between March and December 2021) have now passed.
While speculation about a fourth stimulus check has surfaced on social media and unverified websites, there has been no official confirmation from Congress or the IRS to support this claim and any such news should be taken with caution as it could be misinformation or attempted fraud.
Who qualifies for Trump’s $2000 tariff dividend payment?
Trump’s comments about qualifications for his idea of a proposed tariff dividend were that it would be paid to everyone, excluding “high income people.”
“We’re going to issue a dividend to our middle income people and lower income people of about $2,000,” Trump said on Monday, Nov. 10. “And we’re going to use the remaining tariffs to lower our debt.”
During two prior pandemic-era stimulus checks authorized by Trump, they were made available to individuals bringing in as much as $75,000 per year and couples earning up to $150,000 and higher earners were eligible for smaller payments.
When will the $2000 tariff dividend payment be paid?
Trump’s idea for a $2,000 tariff dividend payment is still an idea that is being floated with no formal proposal and little details thus far, as budget experts chime in about the reality of this idea.
Erica York, a policy expert at the Tax Foundation, said in a post on X, “If the cutoff is $100,000, 150M adults would qualify, for a cost near $300 billion. If kids qualify, that grows. Only problem, new tariffs have raised $120 billion so far.”
As of Sept. 30, the federal government had generated $195 billion in tariff-related revenue, according to officials, which compared to the possible payout of the dividend check proposal would come up short.
However, officials note that in theory, Trump and his administration could potentially look to make the payout based on “anticipated” tariff revenue as the Treasury Department has forecast $3 trillion in tariff revenue over the next decade.
A rebate is a partial refund of the purchase price that a consumer paid, often upon meeting certain conditions, while a dividend by definition, is a distribution of profits by a corporation to its shareholders and refund is a payment made back to a user that previously paid for something.
A stimulus check, on the other hand, is a direct payment to encourage spending and stimulate the economy by putting money directly into the consumers’ hands.
Is there a fourth stimulus check? How to check eligibility
While speculation about a fourth stimulus check has surfaced on social media and unverified websites, there has been no official confirmation from Congress or the IRS to support this claim and any such news should be taken with caution as it could be misinformation or attempted fraud.
The first stimulus check was for up to $1,200 for individuals and $2,400 for married couples, plus $500 per qualifying child under the age of 17. While the second stimulus check was up to $600 per individual, $1,200 for married couples and $600 per qualifying child under 17.
The third stimulus check was for $1,400 per eligible individual and married couples filing jointly received an additional $1,400 for each qualifying dependent.
The opportunities to claim or file for the first stimulus payment (issued in March and April 2020) or the second stimulus check (issued by Jan. 15, 2021) or the third stimulus check (issued between March and December 2021) have now passed.
The deadline to file for the third and last stimulus check was April 15, 2025; it marked a three-year deadline to claim any tax refunds or in this case, the $1,400 Recovery Rebate Credit for 2021.
It is best to work directly with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or a reputable tax professional to address missing stimulus payments or claim the relevant Recovery Rebate Credit on your tax return, if eligible.
Even if you received a tax extension, you still needed to file your 2021 tax return by the April 15, 2025 deadline to claim that third stimulus check. There are no extensions or appeals available for missed deadlines, and any unclaimed stimulus payments become the property of the U.S. Treasury.
Maria Francis is a Pennsylvania-based journalist with the Mid-Atlantic Connect Team.
