Trump announces $1,776 “warrior dividend” bonus for U.S. service members. Here’s what to know.
(CBS NEWS) – According to CBS, President Trump on Wednesday announced that U.S. service members will receive a $1,776 bonus, which he called a “warrior dividend,” before Christmas.
Mr. Trump, who announced the plan in a White House address billed as focusing on affordability, said the amount was inspired by the year of the nation’s founding.
The money is “to both thank them for their military service and to commemorate the 250 years the U.S. military has been defending the nation,” the White House said in a statement Thursday.
Here’s what to know about the dividend.
Is it a recurring bonus?
The “warrior dividend” is a one-time pay bump for the nation’s 1.45 million military service members, according to the White House.
“1776; as you know, our great nation was founded in the crucible of revolution in that year,” U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a social media video posted Thursday.
“As he announced to the nation last night, thanks to President Trump’s unwavering commitment to our warriors and the provisions provided in the One Big, Beautiful Bill, more than 1.45 million service members will, in the coming days, receive a one-time tax-free bonus of $1,776,” Hegseth said.
The checks will be tax-free because they are being paid as a one-time basic allowance for housing supplement, The Hill reported. The IRS says that such housing payments are considered a military benefit and are excluded from taxable income.
Who gets a $1,776 check?
Active duty service members who fell under the pay grades of O-6 or below as of Nov. 30 are eligible for the checks. Reserve component service members on active duty orders of 31 days as of that same date also qualify for the payments, according to the White House.
In the Army, Marine Corps and Air Force, that includes people with the officer rank of colonel or below. For the Navy and Coast Guard, it includes those with the rank of captain or below.
Active duty officers with an O-6 pay grade and two years of experience or less earn $8,340.90 a month, according to 2025 military pay charts. O-1 officers with the same amount of experience earn $3,998.40 monthly.
When will the warrior dividend be paid?
Military members are expected to receive their bonuses “in the coming days,” according to the White House.
“The checks are already on the way,” Mr. Trump said from the White House on Wednesday. “Nobody deserves it more than our military, and I say, ‘congratulations’ to everybody.”
In its statement on Thursday, the White House said service members can expect to receive the payments before Dec. 20.
How is the dividend funded?
On Wednesday, Mr. Trump suggested the “warrior dividend” payments are being funded both by his administration’s tariffs and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which he signed into law this summer.
The payments, which are expected to total $2.6 billion, will come from a $2.9 billion appropriation to the military in the new tax and spending law, a senior administration official told CBS News.
The White House didn’t immediately return a request for comment about whether tariff revenue will also be directed to the fund the “warrior dividend” payments.
