US budget deficit rises to nearly $2 trillion in fiscal year 2026 — CNBC
The US federal budget deficit amounted to $1.992 trillion at the end of fiscal year 2026, the country’s Treasury Department reported. This is approximately 12% higher than in the previous fiscal year, when the deficit stood at $1.775 trillion. As CNBC reports, this is the third-largest annual deficit in US history after 2020 and 2021, when the federal government allocated trillions of dollars in financial support during the Covid-19 pandemic.
25 years with a deficit
In fiscal year 2026, the United States recorded record levels of both budget revenue and spending. At the same time, this was the 25th consecutive year that the federal government ended with a deficit. The country last had a federal budget surplus in 2001.
The largest item of government spending was the Social Security program, which received nearly $1.7 trillion, compared with approximately $1.6 trillion a year earlier. The second-largest expenditure program was Medicare, with spending reaching nearly $1.1 trillion. Slightly less than $1 trillion was spent on it in fiscal year 2025.
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Debt costs and tax revenue
Net interest costs in the budget, meaning the difference between the Treasury’s interest payments and interest income, exceeded $1 trillion. By comparison, this figure was $970 billion in fiscal year 2025. Overall, more than $1.3 trillion was spent on interest payments on US government debt, while the country’s total debt exceeded $40 trillion earlier this year.
Individual income tax receipts exceeded $2.8 trillion, increasing by approximately 7% year on year. At the same time, corporate tax receipts amounted to $381 billion, approximately $70 billion less than in fiscal year 2025. According to CNBC, the decline is linked to tax cuts provided for by the One Big Beautiful Bill, which Congress passed last year.
Separately, the Treasury Department reported that the monthly deficit in September amounted to $27 billion. A year earlier, a surplus of $198 billion was recorded in September.
