In 2023, the U.S. government had a budget deficit of 1.69 trillion U.S. dollars. This is compared to 2000, when the government had a budget surplus of 0.24 trillion U.S. dollars.

U.S. Government budget

The government budget is a financial statement that demonstrates the government’s suggested revenues and spending for the financial year. Budget surpluses occur when income exceeds expenditures. Budget deficits occur when spending exceeds income. The budget balance of the U.S. government has fluctuated since 2016, and is expected to decrease slightly by 2026.

Military spending

Defense outlays in the United States amounted to 714 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. It is expected to continue to increase over the next several years. The United States currently has the largest defense budget in the world, and is the largest employer in the world. The military budget funds the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force. The amount of funding that goes towards the Department of Defense is heavily criticized by Democrats in the United States, because they believe that the funding should be more evenly distributed towards other social welfare programs such as public health insurance and education.

Graph and download economic data for Federal Surplus or Deficit - from Oct 1980 to Jun 2025 about budget, federal, and USA.

The United States recorded a government budget deficit of 291000 USD Million in July of 2025. This dataset provides - United States Government Budget Value - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

In 2024, the budget balance in relation to the gross domestic product (GDP) in the United States stood at about -7.26 percent. Between 2001 and 2024, the figure dropped by approximately 6.72 percentage points, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory. From 2024 to 2030, the budget balance will rise by around 1.65 percentage points, showing an overall upward trend with periodic ups and downs.The indicator describes the general government net lending / borrowing, which is calculated as revenue minus total expenditure. The International Monetary Fund defines the general government expenditure as consisting of total expenses and the net acquisition of nonfinancial assets. The general government revenue consists of the revenue from taxes, social contributions, grants receivable, and other revenue.

Graph and download economic data for Federal government budget surplus or deficit (-) (M318501A027NBEA) from 1952 to 2023 about budget, federal, government, GDP, and USA.

The United States recorded a Government Budget deficit equal to 6.30 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product in 2023. This dataset provides - United States Government Budget - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

The U.S. budget deficit amounted to roughly 1.7 trillion U.S. dollars in 2023, which was around 6.3 percent of the U.S. GDP. The forecast predicts a state deficit of about 2.58 trillion U.S. dollars in 2034, which would be about 6.2 percent of the U.S. GDP. The GDP of the United States since 1990 can be accessed here.

In the first quarter of 2024, the U.S. government's budget balance amounted to a net borrowing of about 2.09 trillion U.S. dollars. This is compared to the first quarter of 2009, when the U.S. government borrowed about 1.79 trillion U.S. dollars.

This summary table shows the on-budget and off-budget receipts and outlays, the on-budget and off-budget surplus/deficit, and the means of financing the budget surplus/deficit. The table also shows the budgeted amounts estimated in the President's Budget for the current fiscal year and next fiscal year for each item on the table. This table includes total and subtotal rows that should be excluded when aggregating data. Some rows represent elements of the dataset's hierarchy, but are not assigned values. The classification_id for each of these elements can be used as the parent_id for underlying data elements to calculate their implied values. Subtotal rows are available to access this same information.

Graph and download economic data for Federal Surplus or Deficit [-] as Percent of Gross Domestic Product (FYFSGDA188S) from 1929 to 2024 about budget, federal, GDP, and USA.

Key information about US Consolidated Fiscal Balance: % of GDP

• United States Consolidated Fiscal Balance recorded a deficit equal to 7.0 % of its Nominal GDP in Dec 2024, compared with a deficit equal to 6.4 % in the previous quarter
• US Consolidated Fiscal Balance to GDP data is updated quarterly, available from Sep 1981 to Dec 2024, with an average ratio of -3.4 %
• The data reached an all-time high of 2.5 % in Dec 2000 and a record low of -19.0 % in Mar 2021

CEIC calculates quarterly Consolidated Fiscal Balance as % of Nominal GDP from monthly Consolidated Fiscal Balance and quarterly Nominal GDP. The Bureau of the Fiscal Service provides Consolidated Fiscal Balance in USD. The Bureau of Economic Analysis provides Nominal GDP in USD. Consolidated Fiscal Balance covers Central Government only.


Further information about US Consolidated Fiscal Balance: % of GDP

• In the latest reports, US National Government Debt reached 36,220.2 USD bn in Jan 2025
• US Nominal GDP reached 6,632.4 USD bn in Mar 2023

This table shows the net transactions for the current month, and the current and prior fiscal year-to-date, as well as account balances for the beginning of the current fiscal year and current accounting month and the close of the current accounting month. This activity is related to the means used to finance the budget deficit or to dispose of a budget surplus. An asset account would represent an asset to the United States Government, for example United States Treasury Operating Cash. A liability account would represent a liability to the United States Government, for example Borrowing from the Public. This table includes total and subtotal rows that should be excluded when aggregating data. Some rows represent elements of the dataset's hierarchy, but are not assigned values. The classification_id for each of these elements can be used as the parent_id for underlying data elements to calculate their implied values. Subtotal rows are available to access this same information.

Because the American states operate under balanced budget requirements, increases in spending in one area typically entail equal and opposite budget cuts in other programs. The literature analyzing the correlates of government spending by policy area has mostly ignored these tradeoffs inherent to policy-making, failing to address one of the most politically interesting and important dimensions of fiscal policy. Borrowing from the statistical literature on compositional data, we present more appropriate and efficient methods that explicitly incorporate the budget constraint into models of spending by budget category. We apply these methods to eight categories of spending from the American states over the years 1984--2009 to reveal winners and losers in the scramble for government spending. Our findings show that partisan governments finance their distinct priorities by raiding spending items that the opposition prefers, while different political institutions, economic conditions, and state demographics impose different tradeoffs across the budget.

This summary table shows, for Budget Receipts, the total amount of activity for the current month, the current fiscal year-to-date, the comparable prior period year-to-date and the budgeted amount estimated for the current fiscal year for various types of receipts (i.e. individual income tax, corporate income tax, etc.). The Budget Outlays section of the table shows the total amount of activity for the current month, the current fiscal year-to-date, the comparable prior period year-to-date and the budgeted amount estimated for the current fiscal year for agencies of the federal government. The table also shows the amounts for the budget/surplus deficit categorized as listed above. This table includes total and subtotal rows that should be excluded when aggregating data. Some rows represent elements of the dataset's hierarchy, but are not assigned values. The classification_id for each of these elements can be used as the parent_id for underlying data elements to calculate their implied values. Subtotal rows are available to access this same information.

This summary table shows the total amount of receipts and outlays and the amount of the budget surplus/deficit by month for the current and prior fiscal years. This table includes total and subtotal rows that should be excluded when aggregating data. Some rows represent elements of the dataset's hierarchy, but are not assigned values. The classification_id for each of these elements can be used as the parent_id for underlying data elements to calculate their implied values. Subtotal rows are available to access this same information.

In 2024, the budget balance in the United Kingdom stood at about -208.37 billion U.S. dollars. Between 1980 and 2024, the figure dropped by approximately 199 billion U.S. dollars, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory. The forecast shows the budget balance will steadily grow by around 106.18 billion U.S. dollars from 2024 to 2030.

In 2024, the budget balance in Japan was estimated at approximately -101.76 billion U.S. dollars. Between 1980 and 2024, the figure dropped by around 25.63 billion U.S. dollars, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory. The forecast shows the budget balance will steadily decline by about 150.54 billion U.S. dollars from 2024 to 2030.

Federal Budget 2015 is a collection of all 46 data tables within the Strong Leadership: A Balanced-budget, Low-tax Plan for Jobs, Growth and Security budget plan released on April 21, 2015.

The United States recorded a trade deficit of 60.18 USD Billion in June of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United States Balance of Trade - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

This table is a subsidiary table for Means of Financing the Deficit or Disposition of Surplus by the U.S. Government providing a detailed view of the Change in Excess of Liabilities. This table includes total and subtotal rows that should be excluded when aggregating data. Some rows represent elements of the dataset's hierarchy, but are not assigned values. The classification_id for each of these elements can be used as the parent_id for underlying data elements to calculate their implied values. Subtotal rows are available to access this same information.