:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-2210598237-4d40a7b41738471a9480f7e296dad9d7.jpg "Are You Expecting a Check from the Government? Fact-Checking Stimulus Payment Claims for February 2026")
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Key Takeaways
- No new federal stimulus payments have been approved for 2026, despite proposals like a $2,000 “tariff dividend.”
- Proposed payments tied to tariff revenues or government spending cuts are unlikely.
Early in his administration, Trump created the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, giving Tesla CEO Elon Musk a leading role in slashing government spending.
Musk promoted the possibility of a “DOGE” dividend paid to Americans from savings generated by government spending cuts. Early figures suggested that those who pay federal income taxes would receive $5,000 each.
But DOGE’s work resulted in far less savings than Musk projected, and after Musk left DOGE in May, any administration push for a DOGE stimulus check seemed to go with him.
Is There a $1,776 Stimulus Check for Military Members?
Almost 1.5 million service members in 2025 received a one-time “Warrior Dividend” bonus of $1,776.
The figure was meant to recall the year of the country’s founding for its 250th anniversary in 2026, according to the Department of Defense. Those checks don’t need to be reported to the IRS as income. Members of the U.S. Coast Guard received a corresponding “Devotion to Duty” check in December.
However, similar payments haven’t been announced for 2026.
Can You Still Get a COVID Stimulus Check?
In December 2024, the IRS began automatically sending payments of up to $1,400 to people who hadn’t claimed the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit on their tax returns.
Anyone else who qualified had until April 15, 2025, to file a claim. That deadline has passed, and no further Covid-era stimulus payments are available.
Other Rumored Stimulus Checks
Claims have circulated online about upcoming stimulus payments in specific dollar amounts, including $1,702 and $1,390. Neither figure has any basis in fact—Congress isn’t considering, and hasn’t approved, any such stimulus payments.
The $1,702 figure appears to stem from Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend, an annual payment to Alaska residents, not a federal stimulus check. The fund paid that amount in 2024.
