How will Donald Trump’s $2,000 'dividend' for Americans work?

US President Donald Trump wants to give everyone stimulus cheques again.

Trump on Sunday promised to distribute $2,000 (Rs 1.77 lakh) to most US citizens barring the rich. The announcement comes in the backdrop of the US Supreme Court hearing a case regarding the legality of Trump’s tariffs.

Trump and members of his administration have publicly displayed optimism that the apex court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, will uphold the tariffs. However, during oral arguments, some of the justices including those appointed by Trump tore the Justice Department’s arguments on tariffs to shreds.

It also comes as the Trump administration has stopped benefit payments for many low-income people, leading to queues outside food banks across America. Trump and members of his administration at the same time have been seen living the high life with lavish dinners, parties and private jets. Trump’s remarks also come after the Democrats registered a string of high-profile wins in polls that were seen as a referendum on the president’s second term.

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But what did Trump say exactly? Who is eligible? How will the payments be made?

Let’s take a closer look:

What did Trump say?

Trump on Sunday claimed most Americans would get a ‘dividend payment’ of at least $2,000 (Rs 1.77 lakh) from revenues America has raised via tariffs.

“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump in October had raised the possibility that a “distribution to the people” between $1,000 (Rs 88,690) and $2,000 (Rs 1.77 lakh) would be made.

“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. “We’ll pay back debt, but we also might make a distribution to the people, almost like a dividend to the people of America.”

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He had at the time claimed that tariffs would soon bring in a revenue of $1 trillion (Rs 88.69 lakh crore) per year. Trump earlier claimed that his tariffs were bringing in $2 billion (Rs 1.77 lakh crore) of revenue per day. Till September, the Trump administration had raked in $195 billion (Rs 17,292 crore) from tariffs. According to the revenue department, it would take an entire decade for tariffs to bring in $1  trillion (Rs 88.69 lakh crore).

Worse, if the Supreme Court at the end of its term in June 2026 rules that the administration will have to refund its tariffs to businesses – which the administration has conceded could be ‘a complete mess’ – the US government could wind up refunding between $750 billion (Rs 66.52 lakh crore) to $1 trillion (Rs 88.69 lakh crore).

Who is eligible? How will payments be made?

“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.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has speculated that the $2,000 could be given in a variety of ways. “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 on auto loans,” Bessent told ABC News.

“So, you know, those are substantial deductions that, you know, are being financed in the tax bill,” Bessent said. He, however, was sure to add that he had not discussed things with the president.

But constitutional experts have noted that this will likely need Congress to pass an act, which would then need to be signed into law by Trump.

As the details of how the payments would be made and who would be eligible remain scarce, it could be instructive to examine how Trump during his first term sent stimulus cheques to people across the nation during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

Congress had passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was signed into law by President Trump on March 27, 2020. Under the law, millions of people who paid taxes got $1,200 (Rs 1 lakh) with an extra $500 (Rs 44,000) for dependants. Trump at the time created a stir by prominently highlighting his name on letters accompanying these cheques.

Congress in December 2020 then passed a $900 billion (Rs 79.82 1.77 lakh crore/daylakh crore) relief package that included $600 (Rs 53,000) direct payments to eligible adults as well as $600 per child. Trump then called on Congress to increase that amount to $2,000 per adult (Rs 1.77 lakh). Individuals making up to $75,000 (Rs 66.52 lakh) a year and married couples making up to $150,000 (Rs 1.33 crore) were eligible in this round.

In 2021, then-President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 which mandated $1,400 for eligible Americans plus another $1,400 (Rs 1.24 lakh) for dependants. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said over 476 million payments were made during the pandemic, giving Americans $814 billion Rs (72.16 lakh crore) in financial relief.

With inputs from agencies