President Donald Trump said he is considering sending $1,000 to $2,000 checks to American taxpayers, funded by revenue from his administration's tariffs on imported goods .
In an interview with One America News Network, Trump said a large portion of the tariff income would first go toward paying down the national debt, which he noted is a top priority. But he also suggested sharing the wealth directly with the public .
"We also might make a distribution to the people, almost like a dividend to the people of America," Trump said. "We're thinking maybe $1,000 to $2,000 – it would be great" .
The proposal would require approval from Congress, where a similar idea has already been introduced. So far, the U.S. has collected roughly $215 billion in revenues from the tariff program launched earlier this year, according to Fox Business data cited by the president . Trump predicted that annual tariff revenues could ultimately reach "over one trillion dollars a year" .
This idea arrives as many Americans are still understanding the effects of a major new tax law. Trump recently signed the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" on July 4, 2025 . That law made permanent the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act's lower income tax rates and added new deductions for seniors and other groups .
However, an analysis from the Yale Budget Lab indicates that against a current policy baseline, nearly half of households will see an income tax cut of less than $100 in 2026 from the new law. Significant additional tax cuts are most common in the upper-middle income range .
The new rebate concept is separate from that recent tax law. It directly ties government income from tariffs to payments for individuals. In July, Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley introduced legislation that aligns with this goal .
Hawley's bill, called the "American Worker Rebate Act," would use tariff revenue to send rebate checks to working-class Americans . His plan would provide at least $600 per adult and dependent child. A family of four would receive $2,400 . The payments would need to be made as rapidly as possible .
The Trump administration has levied a variety of higher tariffs on trading partners and certain imports . The nonpartisan Tax Foundation has analyzed the broader economic impact of these policies. They estimate the tariffs imposed as of May 2025 would raise $2.1 trillion in revenue over ten years but would also reduce U.S. economic output by 0.8 percent in the long run .
Economists at the organization have also critiqued the rebate proposal. They argue that a better way to provide relief to Americans would be to repeal the tariffs altogether, rather than collect the revenue and then send it back .
They note that tariffs function as a tax paid by Americans, which raises costs for businesses and consumers. Rebating the revenue, they warn, would be fiscally irresponsible and could risk increasing inflation .
The U.S. economy does not currently need broad stimulus, they point out. Second-quarter GDP grew at 3 percent and the unemployment rate was 4.1 percent in June . Issuing rebate checks could complicate the Federal Reserve's efforts to manage inflation .
The legislative path for such a rebate is uncertain. Congress is currently deeply divided, a situation highlighted by a recent partial government shutdown . Hawley's bill has not yet moved forward .
Any plan to send checks to Americans would need to pass both the House and Senate before reaching the president's desk for signature . The proposal also comes as the government grapples with persistent budget deficits.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported that even before the "One Big Beautiful Bill" was signed, the federal government was on track to spend $1.9 trillion more this year than it collects . The Tax Foundation estimates that the new tax law will increase budget deficits by $3.8 trillion over the next decade, including interest costs .
The concept of a tariff-funded rebate checks where the government collects taxes on imports and distributes the proceeds directly to citizens. The ultimate size of the checks would depend on the total revenue collected, which is subject to change with trade flows and economic conditions .