No, Trump didn’t sign an executive order to eliminate income taxes

In one of President Donald Trump’s first actions after moving back into the Oval Office, he signed a memo to execute his trade agenda, proposing tariff hikes and the creation of an External Revenue Service. 

But a recent Facebook post claimed the proposed agency would replace the IRS and eliminate income taxes. 

"The IRS will be External Revenue Service, what this means in the near future (paychecks) will not be taxed which means no refund checks for people," the Jan. 22 post said. 

The post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

Trump’s memo did not signal the end of the federal income tax, and it did not do away with the IRS. It also did not immediately create an External Revenue Service, but rather directed Cabinet officials to explore the feasibility of creating one. 

Trump signed the Jan. 20 executive memo ordering a broad review of U.S. exports and imports and an "America First trade policy." The order emphasizes tariffs, which are taxes paid by companies that import goods from foreign countries.

The memo calls for the Homeland Security, Treasury and Commerce departments to "investigate the feasibility of establishing and recommend the best methods for designing, building, and implementing an External Revenue Service (ERS) to collect tariffs, duties, and other foreign trade-related revenues."

It also calls for a review of the U.S. trade deficit, investigating the country’s trade relationship with China, and a broad review of other trade policies.

The order neither mentions the IRS nor calls for changing how the IRS collects taxes. 

Trump had said he would establish the External Revenue Service in his Jan. 20 inaugural address. 

"We are establishing the External Revenue Service to collect all tariffs, duties and revenues," he said. "It will be massive amounts of money pouring into our treasury coming from foreign sources."

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stated on January 18, 2025 in social media posts

“Trump passed a new law that whoever is paying the child support will get to declare those children on their taxes.”

Currently, Customs and Border Protection collects tariffs on imports. Tariffs are paid by U.S. companies that import goods, not by foreign exporters. 

Congress has the authority to create new federal agencies, and it would need to pass legislation to create such an External Revenue Service. Major changes to the federal income tax also require congressional action. 

Trump has vowed to renew his 2017 tax plan and enact new tax cuts, including eliminating the income tax on tips. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which cut income taxes for most Americans and gave the biggest cuts to higher earners, is set to expire in 2025. 

During the 2024 campaign, Trump floated eliminating the individual income tax entirely and replacing it with tariffs on foreign goods, though that was not part of his official campaign platform. Economists at the time said the idea was unrealistic because the value of imported goods is far lower than the U.S. tax base. 

A Facebook post said Trump signed an executive order that would transform the IRS into the External Revenue Service and paychecks "will not be taxed which means no refunds for people." 

Trump’s executive memo did not nix the IRS or income taxes; it directed Cabinet officials to consider the feasibility of establishing an External Revenue Service to collect tariffs. Congressional action would be required to create that agency, which would exist alongside the IRS. 

We rate the claim False.