Musk's DOGE Dividends Would Put $5,000 Back in the Pockets of Taxpayers. Here is How It Would Work

The DOGE Dividends proposal makes more sense than the way it is being portrayed in the establishment news media.

Elon Musk is floating a proposal to distribute $5,000 tax refunds to American households using projected savings from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

This initiative, termed the "DOGE Dividend," was suggested by James Fishback, CEO of investment firm Azoria.

The idea is to allocate 20% of the expected $2 trillion in DOGE savings—equivalent to $400 billion—to 79 million taxpaying households following DOGE's dissolution in July 2026.

Fishback's recommendation involves the following key points:

• A total of $400 billion, or 20% of DOGE’s projected $2 trillion savings, will be earmarked for distribution.

• The amount will be divided among 79 million U.S. households that are net payers of federal income tax in 2025.

• Each qualifying household would receive approximately $5,000 as a tax refund.

• The initiative aims to compensate taxpayers for inefficient government spending and incentivize labor force participation.

His proposal is well worth reading in full and critical points are posted below, because it makes more sense than it is being portrayed in much of the media:

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.

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.

Here’s how President Trump’s DOGE Dividend works:

1. DOGE is targeting $2 trillion in total savings.

2. Take 20% of DOGE’s total savings ($400 billion) and return it to the ~79 million U.S. households that will be net payers of federal income tax in CY 2025 as a tax-refund check called the “DOGE Dividend.”

3. $400 billion in DOGE-driven savings *divided by* 79 million tax-paying households = $5,000 “DOGE Dividend” check per tax-paying household.

The benefits of President Trump’s DOGE Dividend, which we explore in more detail below.

1. Compensates American taxpayers for the egregious misuse and abuse of their hard-earned tax dollars that DOGE has uncovered.

2. Shares the benefits of DOGE’s cost-savings with American taxpayers, incentivizing them to report instances of waste, fraud, and abuse to DOGE, which increases the total amount DOGE saves and increases the size of their DOGE Dividend check.

3. President Trump’s DOGE Dividend works to restore public trust between taxpayers and their government, making good on this social contract and increasing tax morale.

4. The conditional nature of the tax refund (available only to payers of federal income tax in CY 2025) incentivizes labor force participation because only net payers of federal income tax in CY 2025 are eligible to receive President Trump’s “DOGE Dividend.”

Intuitively, it makes more sense to me that the national debt get paid off first before contemplating any “DOGE dividends.” I would prefer this object be accomplished through the prioritization of “non-discretionary spending” getting slashed in Congress. This would accomplish far more than the elimination of “waste, fraud, and abuse” through such shady outfits as USAID.

However, this is the passage in Azoria’s proposal that I found most intriguing, and thereby, increased my receptiveness to the DOGE Dividends proposal.