The DOGE Dividend Could Pay American Taxpayers $5,000

With tax season in full effect, many Americans are getting ready to file their taxes, if they haven't already. For taxpayers who are getting a refund this year, the thought of a check coming in the mail or right into your bank account is nothing short of exciting.

But imagine getting even more back this year. More than you expected - $5,000 to be exact. With Elon Musk's DOGE dividend plan, it might just be a possibility.

What is DOGE?

DOGE stands for the Department of Government Efficiency, and it was put into place by the Trump administration to help eliminate any unnecessary or wasteful government spending. It turns out, there seems to be a lot of it.

Just to give you a few examples, in 2023, $6 million was used to boost Egytian tourism. In the same year, $38 million went to dead people - that's right. And $1.3 million of that went to 30 people who had been dead for at least one year.

DOGE is led by billionaire Elon Musk and is intended to streamline government operations. Originally, it was a rebranding of the U.S. Digital Service, which was set up during President Obama’s time to improve government technology after issues with the HealthCare.gov website.

DOGE's mission includes providing advice on how to make the government more efficient and effective. However, its creation has raised concerns about transparency and the potential misuse of access to sensitive personal information. Critics worry that DOGE's actions could lead to inefficiencies rather than improvements.

What is the DOGE Dividend?

The idea of the DOGE dividend first came into light by a post on X by James Fishback, American investor and Azoria co-founder.

Along with documents outlining how the dividend could work, the post states: "President Trump and @ElonMusk 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."

The check amount? A $5,000 refund paid out to taxpayers funded by DOGE.

Fishback wrote in the documents, "Few in America knew precisely what to expect from DOGE. The early perceived turbulence around leadership, the uncertainty around legal structure, and the lack of precedent for such a bold initiative created a sense of "show me" with DOGE. Just a month into President Trump's second term, DOGE is delivering. Full stop,"

He continues, "With DOGE reportedly achieving $1 billion in savings per day, President Trump has an opportunity to work with Congress to take DOGE one step further and deliver what we at Azoria call the 'DOGE Dividend', a tax refund check to be sent after the expiration of DOGE in July 2026 funded exclusively with a portion of the total savings delivered by DOGE."

So why $5,000? Well, DOGE is planning on saving $2 trillion. Take 20% out of that, then $400 billion can be refunded to around 79 million Americans.

Fishback feels pretty strongly about his reasoning too, stating that it would repay "American taxpayers for the egregious misuse and abuse of their hard-earned tax dollars that DOGE has uncovered."

Why Support the DOGE Dividend?

Besides getting a check for $5,000? There may be some other reasons to support this proposed plan.

First, it could boost tax morale. Many Americans may believe that their hard earned dollars are going to wasteful spending - and you may be one of them. Getting a check after the government saved trillions of dollars can help you feel like you're sharing the benefits.

Second, the more wasteful government spending reported, the more your dividend check could potentially be. This could incentivise more people to report waste, fraud, and abuse to DOGE.

Lastly, it could also incentivise more people to re-enter the workforce in order to qualify - which ultimately can help the U.S. economy.

What Does President Trump Think?

Since President Trump appointed Elon Musk as his senior advisor, Musk can advise the president of day-to-day operations at DOGE but is not in charge - not legally at least.

But Fishback did tag Elon Musk in his post on X, to which Elon responded that he would check with Trump and responded to another post, "Obviously, the President is the Commander-in-Chief, so this is entirely up to him."

So, whether the DOGE dividend will truly go into effect is up in the air right now, but Elon Musk seems in support of the idea. But like he said, it's not up to him.