Stimulus check 2025: Trump promises $2,000 tariff payment, what you need to know

President Trump has reintroduced the idea of sending a stimulus payment – this one funded by sweeping tariffs put in place by his administration – to every American.

But the how and when and even the ifs of the payments remain.

Here’s what we know:

What did Trump say?

In a post on Truth Social, the president said he’d like to fund payments of at least $2,000 per person.

“People that are against Tariffs are FOOLS!,” Trump said. “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.”

Who would receive the payments?

Other than excluding “high-income people” the president did not provide additional details on who would qualify.

Stimulus payments made during the COVID-19 pandemic were based on income. Income limits for those payments were $150,000 for families, $112,500 for heads of household and $75,000 for individuals.

How would tariff checks compare to previous stimulus checks?

Americans received three stimulus checks during the COVID pandemic. The first round was paid in April 2020 and included up to $1,200 per eligible adult and $500 per qualifying child. The second round, paid in December 2020, was up to $600 per person and the third, issued in March 2021, was up to $1,400 per individual.

How much revenue are the tariffs generating?

Through the first three quarters of this year, some $195 billion has been collected through tariff duties, according to the Treasury Department. Tariffs are taxes on foreign goods companies pay when importing items from overseas. These costs are often passed on to the consumer.

Trump has indicated the bulk of the revenue generated by the tariffs will go towards paying the national debt but has favored direct payments as well.

“We’re going to do something, we’re looking at something. Number one, we’re paying down debt. Because people have allowed the debt to go crazy,” Trump said recently. “We’ll pay back debt, but we also might make a distribution to the people, almost like a dividend to the people of America.”

Not so fast…

While Trump’s comments indicated a stimulus-style payment, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated the rebates could come in a different form and confirmed there is no formal plan at this time.

“It could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president’s agenda,” Bessent said in an interview Sunday on ABC News’s “This Week.” “You know, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security. Deductibility of auto loans.”