As Americans gear up for another bustling holiday season, shoppers may find their budgets stretched further than expected—not by retailers’ markups, but by tariffs. According to a new LendingTree analysis, current tariffs amount to what is essentially a $29 billion tax on the 2025 holiday shopping season, hitting families and individuals right as they fill their carts with gifts for loved ones.
LendingTree’s study reveals that at current rates, tariffs would have raised the overall cost of 2024 winter holiday gift shopping by $40.6 billion. Crucially, $28.6 billion—over 70% of this increase—would have been passed directly onto consumers. That translates into an estimated $132 in extra costs for the every holiday shopper in the United States.
