The buzz around a possible $5,000 "DOGE dividend" stimulus check is growing louder, but whether American taxpayers will actually see the money remains uncertain. It is also a possibility that the lowest income Americans will be denied the $5,000 stimulus payment. At the heart of the debate is the Department of Government Efficiency — or DOGE — a cost-cutting initiative championed by former President Donald Trump and led by billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk. The initiative aims to trim wasteful federal spending and return a portion of those savings to taxpayers in the form of a stimulus check.
The concept, often referred to as the "DOGE dividend," was first suggested by Azoria investment firm CEO James Fishback. The idea gained traction on Musk’s social media platform X, where Fishback proposed a tax refund funded solely by savings from DOGE’s operations. “Trump and Musk should announce a ‘DOGE Dividend’ — a tax refund check sent to every taxpayer, funded exclusively with a portion of the total savings delivered by DOGE,” Fishback posted. Musk replied simply: “Will check with the President.”
During a campaign rally in Wisconsin on Sunday, March 30, 2025, Musk was asked whether the DOGE dividend would materialize. He told the crowd that such a plan would require sign-off from both President Trump and Congress. Trump himself has voiced support in principle, stating last month that he would “consider” a proposal to send DOGE-funded stimulus checks to taxpayers. “If we’re going to save money for the government, the American people should benefit too,” Trump said during a campaign event.
The funding, according to proponents of the DOGE dividend, would come from the estimated 20% of government savings identified by the DOGE program. The program, launched by Trump and led by Musk, is said to have already identified at least $140 billion in federal waste, fraud, and inefficiencies. DOGE claims to have saved approximately $130 billion, estimating that savings to be over $800 per taxpayer. In an interview with FOX News host Bret Baier, Musk said the initiative is just getting started and emphasized the long-term goal of trimming up to $2 trillion annually. “This isn’t about cutting corners — it’s about cutting nonsense,” Musk said.
Fishback clarified that the proposed DOGE dividend would differ significantly from pandemic-era stimulus checks. In an interview with NewsNation, he emphasized that DOGE checks would not be inflationary because they would be funded exclusively through savings, not new government debt. “Unlike COVID stimulus checks which were deficit-financed, the DOGE dividend is a refund funded with real savings — it gives taxpayers their money back without adding to inflation,” Fishback said.
The proposed DOGE refund check would be issued per household, rather than to each individual taxpayer, including those receiving Social Security benefits that meet the income tax requirements. The potential refund would be sent only to households that are net-income taxpayers — people who pay more in taxes than they get back — with lower-income Americans not qualifying for the return, according to news reports. The Pew Research Center cites most Americans who have an adjusted gross income of under $40,000 pay effectively no federal income tax.
Fishback’s four-page proposal of the 'DOGE dividend' described it as a refund "sent only to tax-paying householders." He noted the difference from past stimulus checks, adding that DOGE checks would not be inflationary as they would be "exclusively funded with DOGE-driven savings, unlike COVID stimulus checks which were deficit-financed." Fishback argued that during the pandemic, transfer payments reached as high as 25% to 30% of annual income for some households.
As the discussions continue, Fishback expressed optimism that a bill could be introduced in the near future. He described meetings with lawmakers in the House and Senate as "very productive" and said a plan may be revealed soon. While Trump has stopped short of endorsing a specific payout amount, Fishback and Musk remain hopeful that bipartisan support will coalesce around the $5,000 figure. “DOGE is going to save X amount of money over the next couple of years,” Fishback said. “Let’s take 20 percent of that and send it right back to the hard-working taxpayers who sent it to D.C. in the first place.”
While the concept of a stimulus check funded by cost-cutting rather than deficit spending is novel, it’s unclear whether it will appeal across the political aisle. Critics of the proposal have raised questions about fairness, given the exclusion of lower-income households and the potential for the plan to deepen income inequality. Still, the idea has struck a chord with voters who feel overtaxed and underserved. With the 2024 election cycle heating up, the promise of a DOGE-funded stimulus check may become a potent campaign message — even if the checks have yet to materialize.
For now, the $5,000 DOGE stimulus check remains a proposal — a headline-grabbing idea backed by major political and business figures but still lacking legislative teeth. Whether it becomes law depends on what happens next in Congress, and whether the promise of fiscal discipline can be turned into tangible relief for millions of American taxpayers.
