(NEXSTAR) — If you’ve been waiting and hoping for another stimulus check since receiving your last COVID relief payment in 2021, you may be in luck.
Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has introduced a bill to issue “tariff rebates” designed to let “hard-working Americans” benefit from the profits generated by Trump’s tariffs.
According to The Hill, these rebates would take after the payments that were part of the 2020 CARES Act, where adults received $1,200 and $500 was given for each dependent child.
These rebates, however, are meant to counterbalance the elevated prices consumers face due to tariffs. Hawley noted that the U.S. achieved $30 billion in tariff revenue by June, with forecasts suggesting the revenue might exceed $150 billion this year alone.
Under Hawley’s bill, however, the individual payments would be much smaller.
How much would the tariff rebates be?
Every adult would get “at least $600,” and the same would apply to each dependent child. For example, a household with two incomes and no children would get at least $1,200, while a family of four could receive $2,400.
The proposed legislation states that payments could increase “if tariff revenue surpasses current projections for 2025,” as per a press release from Hawley’s office.
Additionally, payments would decrease based on household earnings. According to the bill, rebates would be adjusted downwards depending on a taxpayer’s filing status and adjusted gross income, with thresholds set at $150,000 for joint returns, $112,500 for heads of households, and $75,000 for single taxpayers.
Who would be eligible for a payment?
Hawley’s bill does not explicitly outline who would be eligible, but rather who is ineligible. That includes: “any nonresident alien individual”; those who can be claimed on another taxpayer’s taxes; and estates or trusts.
As we saw with the COVID stimulus checks, your most recent taxes would likely be used to determine your eligibility and the size of your payment.
When could tariff rebates be sent out?
It’s too early to say, as Hawley’s bill would still need to make it through Congress.
President Donald Trump has expressed support for the idea, telling reporters last week that the U.S. has “so much money coming in” because of the tariffs that “we’re thinking about a little rebate.”
“A little rebate for people of a certain income level might be very nice,” he said, while noting that “the big thing we want to do is pay down the debt.”
As of Tuesday, the federal deficit sits at roughly $36.7 trillion. If you would like to help pay it down, you can now use Venmo to contribute to the “Gifts to Reduce the Public Debt” program.
