President Donald Trump said Monday that Americans could start seeing tariff-funded payments as early as next year, setting the stage for what he described as a massive win for working families. He told reporters in the Oval Office that “hundreds of millions of dollars in tariff money” would be distributed as dividends by mid-2026. The announcement immediately reignited debate over Trump’s America-first trade agenda.
“We’ve taken in hundreds of millions of dollars in tariff money,” Trump said. “We’re going to be issuing dividends probably by the middle of next year, maybe a little bit later than that.” The president first floated the idea last week as part of a broader plan to return economic power to American workers.
Trump proposed sending $2,000 payments to low- and middle-income Americans using these tariff revenues. Any leftover funds, he said, would go toward paying down the nation’s massive debt. While critics mocked the idea, Trump reminded reporters that Washington has ignored the debt crisis for decades.
With the debt now sitting north of $38 trillion, Trump acknowledged that tariff revenue alone won’t solve it. But he argued that strong trade enforcement is a start — and far better than letting foreign countries exploit the U.S. “We’ve been taken advantage of for years,” Trump has said repeatedly.
Since Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs in April, revenue has spiked. Collections jumped from $23.9 billion in May to $28 billion in June and $29 billion in July. It’s one of the sharpest tariff increases in modern history.
Total duty revenue reached $215.2 billion in fiscal year 2025, according to Treasury data. That number is already climbing, with $37.5 billion collected just since the start of fiscal 2026 on Oct. 1. The administration says this proves Trump’s tariff strategy is delivering real money back into the country.
Even with the surge, tariff revenue remains small compared with the trillions collected from income taxes. Individual income taxes brought in more than $2.6 trillion in 2025, while tariffs contributed $195 billion. Still, Trump argues that tariffs are finally forcing foreign nations to pay their share instead of dumping cheap goods into the country.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is weighing the legality of Trump’s aggressive trade moves. The ruling could shape the future of U.S. trade policy — and determine how far the president can go in pressuring foreign governments. For now, Trump says he’s staying the course and putting Americans first.