Fact Check: What’s Accurate Regarding Stimulus Payments, IRS Deposit Changes, and Tariff Dividend Rumors

A flood of viral posts has caused widespread confusion about supposed new federal payments coming in December 2025—but officials confirm no such stimulus exists. Despite claims circulating online, Congress has not approved any new federal relief program, and nothing resembling the COVID-era stimulus checks is scheduled.

The misinformation stems from three unrelated situations: routine yearly tax refunds, delayed IRS payments for older unclaimed credits, and state-specific rebate programs that apply only locally. None of these are new federal stimulus checks, despite misleading headlines suggesting otherwise.