Could You Get Trump’s Proposed $2,000 “Tariff Dividend” Payment? Here’s How Eligibility Might Work

A quick, basic check could be all it takes to figure out whether you’d qualify for the $2,000 payment Donald Trump says he wants to send to almost every American.

The 79-year-old’s bold promise has captured huge attention and triggered a flood of questions. With Trump suggesting the money could arrive “in the middle of next year,” people across the country are urgently trying to figure out where they stand.

These so-called “tariff dividends” would be funded by taxes collected on foreign imports. But because there’s still no formal written policy or bill behind the idea, speculation is spreading fast.

In the middle of all the uncertainty, one explanation from SSA-focused YouTuber Blind to Billionaire is getting a lot of traction.

“It is based on your income – that’s it. I’ll make it very clear here, is your income below $75,000 a year, as an individual, yes or no? That’s it – that’s all you need to know. If your answer is yes, you are most likely eligible for this.”

Income Appears to Be the Main Test

In his breakdown, Blind to Billionaire also spelled out how the income threshold could work for married couples:

“Generally, the threshold they put in place for income is $75,000 as an individual, $150,000 dollars as a married couple,” he said.

If that framework holds, it would mean that whether you’re employed, unemployed, retired, or working gig jobs wouldn’t matter as much as your total income level. As long as your earnings fall below the cutoff, you’d likely qualify under the rough guidelines being discussed.

That has been reassuring for people worried they might be excluded because they don’t have a traditional job or a standard W-2 income.

A Plan With No Official Paperwork — Yet

Despite the clarity this YouTuber tried to provide, the big picture is still very unsettled. He reminded viewers that “the government do not have a written plan for this” yet, meaning every detail being floated right now could still change.

Trump has also kept the process itself vague. So far, he’s only confirmed that payments wouldn’t be sent out until sometime in 2026.

“It will be next year… The tariffs allow us to give a dividend. We’re going to do a dividend, and we’re also going to be reducing debt,” Trump said last week while speaking aboard Air Force One, according to The New York Post.

Right now, the proposal is being described as aimed at “moderate income” Americans — basically lower- and middle-income families. But exactly where the lines are drawn is still in flux as negotiations and political discussions continue.

“We Need Legislation for That”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offered a more cautious note in an interview with Fox Business. When asked whether the plan is actually going to happen, he replied:

“We will see,”

and added an important reminder:

“We need legislation for that.”

In other words, even if Trump supports the idea, Congress would still have to approve it before any payments could legally go out.

According to current explanations, the payments would be paid for using revenue from Trump’s broader tariff policies — especially the money collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). That program has reportedly generated about $90 billion through September 23 and approximately $195.9 billion in total by the end of August 2025.

However, those numbers highlight a major funding gap. Erica York, vice president of federal tax policy at the Tax Foundation, estimates that even if the checks were limited to Americans making under $100,000 a year, the total cost would be around $300 billion.

Payments Might Not Be Checks at All

Adding another layer of uncertainty, Bessent hinted that these “dividends” may not necessarily arrive as direct payments in the way many people are expecting. He said the support “could come in lots of forms,” including tax credits or benefits tied to Trump’s proposed One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

So, for now, the idea of a $2,000 “tariff dividend” remains just that — an idea. The rough guideline floating around is that individuals earning under $75,000 and married couples under $150,000 would likely be eligible, but nothing is guaranteed until a clear, written plan passes through Congress.

Until then, everything — timing, format, and even eligibility — is still subject to change.