U.S. President Donald Trump really wants to send you a check.
During his second term, Trump made multiple promises to distribute money to Americans in various ways, including issuing rebate checks related to tariffs and offering bonuses to some government employees.
Some of that "free money" has already started to become a reality: Congress has established " Trump Accounts " within " Big Beautiful Bill ", which will provide $1,000 in tax-free federal subsidies for children born in the coming years.
Others are still out of reach, or have simply fallen by the wayside. Do you still remember the dividends from DOGE?
Trump also issued checks during his first term, but the context was completely different. As part of two rounds of COVID-19 stimulus bills, the federal government distributed $1,200 to Americans in the spring of 2020 and another $600 in the winter of that same year, by which time the president's departure from office was not far off.
Those checks bore Trump's signature, which sparked controversy in a presidential election year.
The following are all the "free money" schemes proposed or hinted at during Trump's second term in office.
$5,000 DOGE Dividends
In February 2025, investor James Fishback proposed the idea of issuing $5,000 “DOGE Dividend” checks to nearly 80 million tax-paying American families.
These checks should have been paid for by the Government Efficiency Office DOGE led by Elon Musk at that time, through cost cuts.
This idea quickly caught Musk's attention, and Trump later also stated that the idea was under consideration.
However, there are some issues. Firstly, the figure of $5,000 is based on Musk's initial estimate of a savings of $2 trillion, which has never been achieved.
Republicans in Congress also expressed opposition to this idea, stating that they would prefer to see a decrease in national debt.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said at the time, "What I mean is, politically speaking, this would be very beneficial for us. But if you consider our core principles, right? Fiscal responsibility is what we stand for."
This idea gradually faded away over time, but Trump's political team continued to mention it in fundraising emails.
$2,000 Customs Duty Rebate Check
Trump once stated that he hoped to return a portion of the tariff revenues to Americans by issuing checks for $2,000 each.
The next day, the responsible Federal Budget Committee released an analysis stating that tariff revenues are not sufficient to support this scenario.
The committee wrote, "As U.S. national debt rapidly approaches record highs and the annual budget deficit is close to $2 trillion per year, policymakers must focus on truly reducing the deficit and putting debt on a downward trajectory."
Finance Minister Scott Bessent also refuted Trump's claims regarding dividends in an interview with ABC News, stating that there are no plans to use tariff revenues.
If Trump wants to implement this arrangement, he still needs congressional approval; considering the low enthusiasm of Republican lawmakers, this seems unlikely.
Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson told reporters, "The deficit we face this year is approximately $2 trillion. I believe that whatever revenue we obtain from whatever sources, it should be used to minimize these deficits as much as possible."
Trump's timeline for issuing the tariff checks has also changed several times. In November last year, he mentioned that the checks might be issued by mid-2026. However, in an interview with The New York Times in January of this year, he said they might be issued "around the end of the year."
He also denied the need for congressional legislation to issue checks, including during a briefing with reporters at the White House before his trip to Davos.
Trump said, "I don't think we have to go down the route of Congress. But you know, we will figure it out."
$10,000 bonus for air traffic controllers
The longest government shutdown in U.S. history began on October 1, 2025, and lasted for 43 days during negotiations between Democratic and Republican lawmakers over a new budget.
The shutdown has resulted in the government putting hundreds of thousands of federal employees on furlough without pay, while others—such as air traffic controllers—must continue to work for free before the holiday travel rush of Thanksgiving.
In late October 2025, air traffic controllers received their first paychecks amounting to $0. Some of them began to stop showing up for work, leading to a staffing shortage that resulted in numerous flight delays and cancellations.
A month later, Transport Minister Sean Duffy stated in the program CBS News " Face the Nation " that the shutdown had put air traffic control personnel in a difficult situation.
Tamiflu said, 'They are faced with a choice: should I buy food for the children, refuel the car, pay the rent, or go to work without getting paid? They are making decisions. I have always encouraged them to come to work. I hope they will come to work, but they are making life decisions that they shouldn't have to make.'
Trump wrote, "As for those who leave by taking time off, aside from just complaining, I am not satisfied with you, even though we all know that you will soon receive your full wages back."
"Santa Claus will arrive in the city early," Duffy wrote.
$1,000 for Trump Accounts
On July 4, 2025, Trump signed " One Big Beautiful Bill " into law, implementing new tax policies and adjustments to federal programs, including SNAP.
The bill also introduces what is known as Trump Accounts, which is a specialized retirement account for American children. They were previously referred to as “money account for growth and advancement”, that is, the MAGA accounts.
The Trump administration announced that children born between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028, who set up a Trump Accounts account, will receive a one-time federal grant of $1,000 exempt from taxes. American children with a valid Social Security number are eligible. Friends, family members, and others can also deposit an additional $5,000 into these accounts without incurring any tax liability.
The White House stated that several CEOs have agreed to invest in Trump Accounts, including Dara Cosrosashi, the CEO of Uber, and David Solomon, the CEO of Goldman Sachs.
In December 2025, Michael Dell and Susan Dell committed to investing $6.25 billion to support the federal project Invest America which aims to promote Trump Accounts.
Hedge fund manager Ray Dalio also pledged to contribute $250 to the Trump Accounts of 300,000 children in Connecticut. Some large companies, such as BlackRock, also offer a matching contribution of $1,000 for the children of eligible employees.
In January of this year, at an event in Toledo, Ohio, Vice President JD Vance joked that these accounts played a role when he and his second wife, Usha Vance, decided to have a fourth child, with the expected due date in July.
Wans said, "You know, we were discussing at that time whether to have a fourth child. I said, 'Honey, you know the new Trump Accounts and the increased child tax credits are about to be implemented soon, we should take advantage of these policies.'"
Trump Accounts was officially launched in July of this year.
$1,776 for soldiers “Warrior Dividend”
In December 2025, during an economic address to the American public, Trump stated that the government would issue bonus checks to military personnel before Christmas.
Subsequently, the newly renamed Department of War stated in a press release that Trump was issuing bonus checks to service members "to thank them for their military service and to commemorate 250 years of the U.S. military's defense of the nation."
These checks are referred to as “Warrior Dividend”, with each check amounting to $1,776.
The Ministry of War stated: "The funds for Warrior Dividend come from One Big Beautiful Bill signed by the President earlier this year. Approximately 1.28 million active-duty military personnel and 174,000 members of the reserve forces will receive this dividend as a tax-free supplement to their regular monthly housing allowances."
The Ministry of Finance and the Internal Revenue Service of the United States stated that eligible service members will be exempt from taxes on dividends received in December 2025.
Direct Subsidies for Healthcare
Trump also hopes to distribute "free money" for healthcare to Americans – but there are very few details available.
In January of this year, the White House released a framework titled “The Great Healthcare Plan”, which included a provision to stop “sending billions of dollars in additional taxpayer subsidies to large insurance companies, and instead direct this money directly to eligible Americans so they can purchase health insurance of their choice.”
Trump has promoted this idea on multiple occasions, but it is not yet clear how it will be implemented in detail, nor is the amount involved known.
A proposal put forward by Republican senators, Health Care Freedom For Patients Act, will inject up to $1,500 into health savings accounts for individuals whose income is less than 700% of the federal poverty line.
At the same time, the subsidies under the Affordable Care Act are set to expire at the end of 2025, with no clear path for extension yet. As a result, premiums for many Americans are soaring, and the number of people enrolled in health insurance is also declining.
500 USD Affordable Healthcare Act Refund Check
In September, Trump announced that the government would issue $500 refund checks to nearly 1 million Americans who had been "incorrectly overcharged" under the Affordable Care Act. The subsidies provided by the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as the Obamacare subsidies, expired in 2025.
Trump said, "Nearly 1 million hardworking Americans, spread across 30 states, will soon receive a refund of $500 per person. The checks will be sent to their home addresses."
He stated that this refund check is "in many cases" sufficient to help Americans cope with the increase in insurance premiums. Although the Affordable Care Act has indeed raised the insurance costs for many Americans, low-income and middle-income Americans have received subsidies to offset these costs.
In late September, the Trump administration began to issue refunds along with a letter. The letter stated: "For many years, the Biden administration has overcharged you to fund the operations of HealthCare.gov. This money belongs to hardworking Americans, not the government. Now, I am returning it to you!"
Trump said that these one-time payments will be made to HealthCare.gov users who purchased insurance on their own but did not receive subsidies funded by taxpayers. He described these refunds as the return of excess funds accumulated during the operation of the federal healthcare marketplace.
$5,000 dividend for Republican candidates in the midterms
At the first Midterm Elections Convention held by the Republican National Committee, Trump stated that if the Republicans continue to control both the House of Representatives and the Senate after the midterms in November, each American citizen will receive a dividend of $5,000.
