US fiscal 2026 budget deficit rises to $1.99 trillion, Treasury says
The US budget deficit rose by $217 billion to $1.99 trillion in fiscal 2026, according to Treasury Department figures reported Friday. The total covers the year ended September 30 and marks the largest annual shortfall in five years.
Advert for a company owned by the publisher of 360LiveNews.
Treasury data also shows the gap is the third-largest annual deficit ever recorded. Receipts for fiscal 2026 reached a record $5.40 trillion, up $169 billion, or 3%, from $5.24 trillion in fiscal 2025.
Outlays also hit a record $7.40 trillion, rising $386 billion, or 6%, from $7.01 trillion the previous year. Treasury said debt-service outlays totaled a record $1.36 trillion, up $144 billion, or 12%, and now trail only Social Security and combined Medicare and Medicaid spending.
Treasury said the deficit widened further after a $22 billion drop in net tariff receipts following a Supreme Court ruling this year that negated a large portion of tariffs imposed by Trump during his first year in office. That ruling triggered $145 billion in tariff refunds during the year and drove net tariff income down 11% to about $173 billion.
Advert for a company owned by the publisher of 360LiveNews.
A Treasury official said the department estimated a deficit-to-GDP ratio of 6.2% for fiscal 2026. For September, the final month of the fiscal year, Treasury reported a $27 billion deficit versus a $198 billion surplus a year earlier.
