Trump’s $100 billion tariff refund going to big names despite Americans paying higher prices. Can you still get a cut?

Thomas Kent

Sun, August 9, 2026 at 2:15 PM GMT+3 7 min read

Andrew Harnik/ Getty Images

Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below.

American businesses are getting billions of dollars back from President Donald Trump's tariffs. But if you paid higher prices because of them, don't expect a refund check except under very specific circumstances.

The Trump administration had completed roughly $100 billion in tariff refunds by the end of July, according to a recent filing (1) in the U.S. Court of International Trade. That's more than half of the roughly $166 billion (2) collected under tariffs that the Supreme Court struck down earlier this year.

Must Read

Jeff Bezos backs a platform that lets anyone invest in rental homes for as little as $100 — 6 ways to build wealth like a landlord without actually being one
JPMorgan still sees gold hitting $5,000/oz by Q4 — and savvy investors are protecting their wealth with a tax-advantaged Gold IRA. Learn more with a free guide from Priority Gold
The tax breaks in Trump's 'big beautiful bill' expire after 2028 — and experts say most people won't act in time. What to do before the window closes

The money is going to the businesses that legally paid the tariffs when importing goods. The problem is that they weren't necessarily the ones who ultimately absorbed the cost.

Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that nearly 90% of the economic burden (3) of Trump's 2025 tariffs fell on U.S. firms and consumers.

And while some companies have promised to pass their refunds along through lower prices, there's no guarantee the money will find its way back into shoppers' wallets.

Companies get refunds and you pay the price

When a product enters the U.S., the importer pays the tariff. It can then absorb that expense, convince its foreign supplier to lower its price or pass some of the cost along to customers.

And pass the buck they did. The Tax Foundation (4) estimates Trump's tariffs amounted to an average tax increase of about $1,000 per U.S. household in 2025.

Meanwhile, Amazon disclosed a roughly $600 million payment, while Apple received about $2.2 billion, according to ABC News (5).

Amazon has said it will refund customers in the limited cases where it determined tariffs were passed directly to them, while Walmart and Costco have indicated their refunds could help fund lower prices. Meaning, any refunds would be coming at the discretion of some of corporate America's biggest names, not the government.

But there's no nationwide mechanism for returning the costs consumers already absorbed, and prices don't automatically fall just because an importer's tariff is eventually refunded. Meanwhile, consumer prices remained 3.5% higher in June (6) than a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

So rather than waiting to see whether corporate tariff refunds eventually translate into lower prices, households can look for savings in the parts of their finances they can control.

Find where high costs are eating your budget

An extra $10 on groceries, $20 on household purchases and a few dollars across recurring bills can quietly add up. Tracking where your spending has crept higher can show you where there's room to cut back.

Monarch Money puts all your finances under one roof, from your banking statements to your investments. You can also add separate or joint accounts to your dashboard, which can be great for tracking grocery runs for couples or helping your child get used to big-picture financial planning as parents.

The app is also well reviewed. Forbes ranked Monarch Money as its best budgeting app for 2025, as did the Wall Street Journal.

And the best part? Monarch Money offers a seven-day free trial so you can see if it's right for you. If you like what you see, you could then snag 50% off your first year with code WISE50.

Shop around for expenses you can actually lower

You can't control the price of everything you buy, but you may have more control over some of your recurring bills. Car insurance is one place to look.

By using a comparison platform like Insurify, you can instantly view quotes from top-rated providers to ensure you aren't paying a hidden "loyalty tax" to your current insurer.

Just answer a few basic questions, and Insurify will show you the most affordable deals in as little as three minutes.

Not only is the process 100% free, but you could also save up to 20% by bundling your car and home insurance.

Put your spare cash to work

Cutting expenses can create some breathing room, but where you keep that extra cash matters too, especially when prices remain unpredictable.

A high-yield account like a Wealthfront Cash Account can be a great place to grow your uninvested cash, offering both competitive interest rates and easy access to your money when you need it.

A Wealthfront Cash Account currently offers a base APY of 3.30% through program banks, and new clients can get an extra 0.75% boost during their first three months on up to $150,000 for a total variable APY of 4.05%.

That's 10 times the national deposit savings rate, according to the FDIC's July report.

Additionally, Wealthfront is offering new clients who enable direct deposit ($1,000/mo minimum) to their Cash Account and open and fund a new investment account an additional 0.25% APY increase with no expiration date or balance limit, meaning your APY could be as high as 4.30%.

With no minimum balances or account fees, as well as 24/7 withdrawals and free domestic wire transfers, your funds remain accessible at all times. Plus, you get access to up to $8M FDIC Insurance eligibility through program banks.

For money you won't need immediately, certificates of deposit (CDs) can offer competitive fixed rates in exchange for locking up your cash for a set term.

Before opening or renewing one, CD Valet's CD APY Checkpoint Tool can show you whether you're getting a competitive rate.

The platform tracks over 40,000 verified CD rates from FDIC-insured banks and NCUA-insured credit unions nationwide. Simply enter your current APY and term length to see how it compares with today's market in seconds.

CD Valet continuously updates its nationwide rate database, allowing you to shop, compare and open CDs with ease.

Keep building for the long term

You don't need a $600 million tariff refund to put a little more money to work.

Small investments can become surprisingly big when you give them enough time. Put away just $5 a week for 20 years, and you'd contribute only $5,200 out of pocket. At a hypothetical 7% average annual return, you could end up with roughly $11,300. That's more than doubling the money you put in, though actual returns may vary.

One way to build that consistency into your normal spending is Acorns, an app that automatically invests your spare change from everyday purchases.

Link your cards, and Acorns will round each purchase up to the nearest dollar, investing the difference into a diversified portfolio. Buy something for $3.25, for example, and Acorns can round it to $4 and invest the extra $0.75.

You can start investing with as little as $5 — and if you sign up today, Acorns will add a $20 bonus investment to help you get started.