Donald Trump says DOGE savings to make it back to taxpayers: Who stands to gain and how much?

After Elon Musk said he would pass on the suggestion for a ‘DOGE Divident’ to Americans, US President Donald Trump has now claimed that taxpayers could get a cut of the federal savings. On February 18, DOGE chief Elon Musk responded to proposal on social media saying: “Will check with the President.”

Then, on February 19, while addressing an investment summit in Florida, Donald Trump said, “There’s even under consideration a new concept where we give 20 per cent of the DOGE savings to American citizens, and 20 per cent goes to paying down debt, because the numbers are incredible.”

Thus, with the big names mulling the move. We take a look at who could benefit from this decision and by how much.

DOGE Savings Rebate for American Taxpayers?

As per the proposal put forward by James Fishback, CEO of investment firm Azoria and reportedly an outside adviser to DOGE, a “tax refund check” worth about $5,000 can be sent to “tax paying” American households after the expiration of DOGE in July 2026.

Fishback claimed the rebate could be covered with a portion of the total savings delivered by DOGE, which Elon Musk has estimated will reach $2 trillion. The number was difficult to confirm, and when Musk was questioned about it, he retracted the estimate.

How Much Would US Taxpayers Get?

Notably, Fishback's proposal accounts 20 per cent of DOGE’s targeted $2 trillion in savings to be returned to “the ~79 million tax-paying households,” which the CEO said would result in approximately a $5,000 return per household.

Further, Elon Musk's engagement with the proposal escalated speculation over the possibility of around 79 million Americans getting cheques worth $5,000 from DOGE's claimed savings for the federal government. DOGE has so far claimed to have saved $55 billion “which is a combination of fraud detection / deletion, contract / lease cancellations, contract / lease renegotiations, asset sales, grant cancellations, workforce reductions, programmatic changes, and regulatory savings.”

Last updated on February 17, the website states that DOGE is working on uploading “all this data” in a “digestible and fully transparent manner.” However, while DOGE has claimed $55 billion of federal savings, reports by the New York Times and Washington Post note discrepancies in the data published and the numbers claimed.

Who Will Benefit from DOGE Dividends?

While Fishback in his post claimed “79 million Americans” and “American households” would be beneficiaries. Donald Trump in his statement mentioned “American citizens”. Most likely all American taxpayers could expect a $5,000 cheque if the move comes to fruition.

However, US Budget experts have cautioned that a “rebate” is unlikely without Congress' approval, according to a Politico report. The experts also warned that many lawmakers would rather use that money in other ways — like cutting national debt or paying for Donald Trump's tax extensions.

F Stevens Redburn, a public policy lecturer at George Washington University and a former official of both the US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Congressional Budget Office (CBO), said any decision would pass through the two offices and the US Treasury before action is taken.

He also pointed to the questions and lawsuits over the legality of DOGE, suggesting that DOGE itself could be shut down if the judge rules against it.

How Feasible Are $5,000 Cheques to All?

The idea of sending cheques to taxpayers is not wholly impossible. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Donald Trump sent government stimulus cheques to millions of eligible Americans. Later, Joe Biden did the same.

But now that there is an informal discussion of disbursing DOGE's “targeted” monies to Americans, the feasibility of sending cheques from savings not yet made remains to be seen.