Stimulus Checks Update Today, November 25, 2025: No New IRS Payment — But State “Relief Checks” and Tariff Dividend Debate Heat Up

Households across the U.S. are once again asking the same question: “Is there a new stimulus check coming?”
As of today, November 25, 2025, the answer at the federal level is still no — but there are real payments going out from states and local guaranteed‑income programs, and a high‑stakes fight in Washington over a proposed $2,000 “tariff dividend” check for 2026.

Let’s separate today’s hard facts from the internet rumor factory.

Key Takeaways: Stimulus Checks on November 25, 2025

No new federal stimulus checks are approved for November 2025. The IRS newsroom and major fact‑checks all agree: there is no active federal direct‑payment program right now. ^[1]
Trump’s proposed $2,000 “tariff dividend” checks would not arrive until 2026 at the earliest and face serious political and budget roadblocks in Congress. ^[2]
Viral claims of $1,390, $1,702 or “Black Friday $2,000 IRS stimulus” payments in November are false. They’re being actively debunked by mainstream outlets and used as bait in scams. ^[3]
Real money is still flowing through state‑level programs:
- New York inflation refund checks up to $400
- New Jersey ANCHOR property‑tax relief up to $1,750
- Expanded property‑tax and rent rebates in Pennsylvania
- One‑time tax rebates in Virginia
- Local guaranteed‑income pilots in California, Cook County (IL), Alameda (CA), and others ^[4]
Scammers are exploiting stimulus buzz. IRS and consumer watchdogs warn against texts, emails or social‑media DMs offering “fast stimulus approval” or asking for banking details. ^[5]

Federal Stimulus Checks Today: What’s Actually Approved?

The short, boring, financially responsible answer: no new federal stimulus checks are being sent in November 2025.

Multiple independent fact‑checks — from Fox/KTVU, FOX 5 DC, Hindustan Times, and The Economic Times — all converge on the same point:

Congress hasn’t passed any new stimulus bill in 2025.
The IRS has not announced any new round of Economic Impact Payments or emergency direct deposits. ^[6]

The last true federal “stimulus” deposits were tied to the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit, the tail end of the COVID‑era payments. People who missed their third check could still claim it by filing a 2021 tax return by April 15, 2025, but that deadline is now gone. ^[7]

The IRS’s own pages on Economic Impact Payments are now labeled as historical material, and the current IRS newsroom for November 2025 only shows releases about things like tip and overtime reporting and disaster‑area tax relief — not new checks. ^[8]

So federally:

No fourth stimulus check is approved.
No $1,390 or $2,000 IRS deposit is scheduled this week.
Any message saying “IRS sending surprise November stimulus” is not based on official data. ^[9]

Trump’s $2,000 Tariff Checks: Real Proposal, Not Real Money (Yet)

Here’s where the buzz comes from.

President Donald Trump has rolled out a proposal to send roughly $2,000 “tariff dividend” or “tariff rebate” checks to many Americans, funded by revenue from his broad tariffs on imports. ^[10]

Key things to know from reporting by Investopedia, Axios, and other outlets:

The plan would target low‑ and middle‑income households, likely those earning $100,000 or less, similar to earlier pandemic‑era income thresholds. ^[11]
Administration officials say the White House is looking for a legislative path — probably a budget reconciliation bill — to authorize the checks. ^[12]
Trump and his aides are talking about checks starting in mid‑2026, not this year. ^[13]

Economists and budget analysts, meanwhile, are waving giant red flags:

Tariff revenues are far smaller than the cost of nationwide $2,000 checks. A detailed analysis in The Economic Times estimates that even the smallest version of the program would cost nearly $280 billion, while broader versions could top $600 billion, far above expected tariff revenues in 2025–2026. ^[14]
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) just revised its forecast and now expects Trump’s tariffs to reduce deficits by $3 trillion over a decade, about $1 trillion less than previously projected — shrinking the pool of “extra” money that could fund checks. ^[15]
Republican lawmakers like Sen. Ron Johnson (R‑Wis.) say tariff proceeds should go toward the $38 trillion national debt, not new checks; he’s publicly called the $2,000 plan unaffordable. ^[16]

In plain English:

The tariff dividend idea is politically real but financially and legislatively uncertain. It is not law, and it does not translate into any deposits in November 2025.

Today’s Viral Stimulus Rumors, Fact‑Checked

If your feed looks like a slot machine of dollar amounts — $1,390, $1,702, $2,000 Black Friday checks — you’re not alone. Those specific numbers are coming from a mix of misread headlines, click‑bait blogs, and outright scams.

“$2,000 Black Friday IRS Stimulus”

A widely shared story claimed the IRS would send a $2,000 stimulus check before Black Friday 2025.
Reporting from The Economic Times notes the IRS has explicitly said no such federal direct‑payment program exists, and Congress has approved no $2,000 checks. ^[17]

The only connection to $2,000 is Trump’s tariff dividend proposal, which is not an IRS program, not scheduled for 2025, and not guaranteed to happen at all. ^[18]

“$1,390 November Direct Deposit”

Another rumor insists that the IRS is dropping $1,390 into accounts this month.

A separate ET fact‑check on the “$1,390 direct deposit” makes it painfully clear:

No new IRS payment is approved.
No November deposit is scheduled.
Claims about $1,390 are false; they’re often used in scam links and fake IRS emails. ^[19]

“$1,702 Stimulus for Everyone” and the Alaska Confusion

A wave of posts in October and November pushed a $1,702 “stimulus” claim. The twist:

Fact‑checkers found that many of those posts were actually describing Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend — the annual payment Alaska residents receive from oil and mineral revenues — while labeling it as an “IRS stimulus”. ^[20]
The PFD is real, but it’s state‑level, Alaska‑only and not a federal stimulus program.

IRS & FTC: Why This Matters

Articles reviewing the November rumors stress that scammers piggyback on stimulus buzz to:

Harvest banking details and Social Security numbers
Charge fake “processing fees” to unlock nonexistent checks
Phish through emails and texts that pretend to be from the IRS or Treasury ^[21]

The IRS repeatedly reminds people it does not initiate contact via random text, DM, or email about surprise stimulus programs. Anything like that is a red flag. ^[22]

Who Is Getting Checks and Relief Payments in Late 2025?

Even without a new federal stimulus, billions of dollars in smaller, targeted payments are still in motion.

1. New York “Inflation Refund” Checks (Up to $400)

New York State is mailing inflation refund checks of up to $400 to roughly 8.2 million residents, with distribution running through October and November 2025. ^[23]

Single filers up to $75,000 in income: around $200
Joint filers up to $150,000: up to $400
Checks are automatic, based on recent tax returns—no application needed. ^[24]

These come on top of ongoing STAR school‑tax relief and other state tax credits. ^[25]

2. New Jersey ANCHOR Property‑Tax Relief (Up to $1,750)

New Jersey’s ANCHOR program (Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners and Renters) is cutting property‑tax bills with direct payments up to $1,750: ^[26]

Senior homeowners can receive up to $1,750
Non‑senior homeowners up to $1,650
Senior renters up to $700; non‑senior renters up to $450

Important timing details:

Payments started on a rolling basis around September 15, 2025.
The application deadline was October 31, 2025, but checks are still being issued now, often within about 90 days of filing. ^[27]

So if you applied on time, November and December are prime months for ANCHOR payments to land.

3. Pennsylvania Property Tax / Rent Rebate Checks

Pennsylvania expanded its long‑running Property Tax/Rent Rebate (PTRR) program:

Maximum standard rebate now up to $1,000 for eligible seniors and disabled adults. ^[28]
Income limits generally $45,000 for homeowners and renters (with part of Social Security excluded). ^[29]
A recent expansion means roughly 175,000 tax‑rebate checks are being mailed out after the latest approvals. ^[30]

4. Virginia Tax Rebates

Virginia is issuing one‑time state tax rebates in 2025: ^[31]

Up to $200 for single filers
Up to $400 for married couples filing jointly
You must have had 2024 Virginia income‑tax liability to qualify.
The governor’s office says some residents started getting payments in mid‑October 2025, and processing continues through fall.

5. Other State “Stimulus‑Style” Programs

A broader roundup from Kiplinger lists ongoing or recent rebates, including: ^[32]

Colorado TABOR refunds (taxpayer bill‑of‑rights surplus refunds)
Michigan Working Families Tax Credit expansions
New York STAR and other property‑tax relief
Oregon’s 2025 “kicker” tax credit, which increases refunds rather than sending a separate check

Most of these are tied to state tax returns, not one‑off federal stimulus payments, but they do show up as checks or direct deposits for eligible residents.

Guaranteed Income Programs Sending Payments in November

Below the national headlines, a parallel world of guaranteed income pilots is quietly wiring money to selected households.

California: Family First Economic Support Pilot (FFESP)

In Sacramento County, California’s Family First Economic Support Pilot Program (FFESP) is sending $725 per month to 200 low‑income families with young children, with the final disbursement scheduled for November 2025. ^[33]

Families were selected in neighborhoods with high inequality.
Payments run for 12 months, totaling $8,700 per family.
The program is part of a broader statewide push to test guaranteed income and measure effects on poverty and household stability. ^[34]

Cook County, Illinois: Permanent Guaranteed Income

Cook County (which includes Chicago) just became the first U.S. county to make guaranteed income permanent, budgeting $7.5 million in its 2026 plan to continue monthly cash payments to low‑income residents. ^[35]

The earlier Promise Guaranteed Income Pilot (2022–2025) gave $500 a month to 3,200 households for two years. ^[36]
Surveys show participants used the money for essentials like food, rent, utilities, and transportation and reported reduced stress and better mental health. ^[37]

While the new funding kicks in next year, many households are still benefiting from the last round of payments in early 2025, and the policy shift signals that recurring cash support is here to stay in some localities.

Alameda, California: Rise Up Alameda (Ending November 2025)

The Rise Up Alameda pilot has been sending $1,000 a month to 150 low‑income households since 2022, funded by American Rescue Plan dollars. The program is scheduled to end in November 2025. ^[38]

Again, this is not a national stimulus check — it’s a city‑level guaranteed income experiment, but it is very much real money landing in bank accounts right now.

Where Do Past Federal Stimulus Payments Stand?

One source of confusion is that old stimulus money was still trickling out as recently as early 2025.

Here’s what’s effectively wrapped up now:

The IRS identified about 1 million taxpayers who were owed up to $1,400 each from the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit but never claimed it.
Those automatic payments — worth about $2.4 billion total — went out by direct deposit and paper check from late 2024 through January 2025. ^[39]
To newly claim those funds, taxpayers had to file a 2021 return by April 15, 2025. That window has closed; unclaimed money now reverts back to the Treasury. ^[40]

So if you see headlines about “IRS still sending $1,400 stimulus payments,” they’re describing that cleanup effort, not a new wave of checks.

How to Check If You Qualify for Any Current Payments

Think of this as a quick “reality filter” you can run:

Federal level (IRS)
- Go to IRS.gov, not a link in your text messages.
- Use:
  - “Where’s My Refund?” for ordinary tax refunds
  - The historical Economic Impact Payments page to view past stimulus amounts via your IRS online account ^[41]
- There is no active federal stimulus application form for 2025.
State level
Check your state’s official revenue or taxation site (for example):
- New York: Inflation refund & tax relief pages (STAR, refund checks) ^[42]
- New Jersey: ANCHOR program eligibility and status lookup ^[43]
- Pennsylvania: Property Tax/Rent Rebate program information ^[44]
- Virginia: Governor’s tax‑rebate announcement ^[45]
Local guaranteed income / pilot programs
- Look for city or county press releases (Sacramento, Cook County, Alameda, etc.) or university research hubs tracking pilots, like Stanford’s Guaranteed Income Pilots Dashboard. ^[46]

If you don’t see a .gov address (or another clearly official public‑sector site) associated with the payment, assume it’s marketing or speculation, not guaranteed money.

How to Avoid Stimulus Scams in 2025

Scammers love three things: confusing programs, big dollar amounts, and people under pressure. Right now they’ve got all three.

Based on guidance from the IRS, FTC, and media fact‑checks, here’s how to stay safe: ^[47]

Don’t trust unsolicited messages. The IRS does not cold‑text or DM you about stimulus checks.
Never pay a fee to “unlock” or “expedite” a government payment. Legitimate government checks are free.
Type URLs manually. Don’t click on links promising checks; search for the agency site yourself.
Protect your data. Never give your Social Security number, bank account details, or photo of your ID to someone who contacted you first.
Verify with official sources. When in doubt, start at IRS.gov or your state’s official taxation site and work outward, not from social‑media screenshots inward.

Bottom Line: In November 2025, Plan Around What’s Real — Not Rumors

As of November 25, 2025:

There is no fourth federal stimulus check approved.
The only serious national “new check” idea — Trump’s $2,000 tariff dividend — is aimed at 2026 and faces steep political and math challenges. ^[48]
State‑level rebates, tax refunds, and guaranteed‑income pilots are where the real money is actually moving right now.
The more viral and specific the claim (“$1,390 arrives this Friday!”), the more likely it is to be wrong or malicious.

Think of stimulus rumors like those “get rich quick” YouTube thumbnails: entertaining background noise, but not something to build your budget on. The safe move is to track official IRS and state announcements, and treat everything else as unproven until it survives contact with reality.