Graph and download economic data for Federal Surplus or Deficit - from 1901 to 2025 about budget, federal, and USA.

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 [-] as Percent of Gross Domestic Product (FYFSGDA188S) from 1929 to 2024 about budget, federal, GDP, and USA.

The United States recorded a Government Budget deficit equal to 6.40 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product in 2024. This dataset provides - United States Government Budget - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

The United States recorded a government budget deficit of 284350 USD Million in October of 2025. This dataset provides - United States Government Budget Value - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

The U.S. budget deficit amounted to roughly 1.8 trillion U.S. dollars in 2024, which was around 6.4 percent of the U.S. GDP. The GDP of the United States since 1990 can be accessed here.

The forecasted budget balance for the U.S. government is predicted to fluctuate between the fiscal years of 2025 and 2035. This forecast predicts a deficit of 2.7 trillion U.S. dollars by fiscal year 2035. A fiscal year covers the period from October 1 to September 30 of a given year.

Key information about US Consolidated Fiscal Balance: % of GDP

• United States Consolidated Fiscal Balance recorded a deficit equal to 6.3 % of its Nominal GDP in Jun 2025, compared with a deficit equal to 7.0 % in the previous quarter
• US Consolidated Fiscal Balance to GDP data is updated quarterly, available from Sep 1981 to Jun 2025, with an average ratio of -2.8 %
• 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 38,040.1 USD bn in Oct 2025
• US Nominal GDP reached 7,621.4 USD bn in Jun 2025

In the second quarter of 2025, the U.S. government's budget balance amounted to a net borrowing of about 2.11 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.

United States - Federal Surplus or Deficit [-] was -1832816.00000 Mil. of $ in September of 2024, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Federal Surplus or Deficit [-] reached a record high of 236241.00000 in September of 2000 and a record low of -3131917.00000 in September of 2020. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Federal Surplus or Deficit [-] - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on December of 2025.

In 2024, the budget balance in relation to the gross domestic product (GDP) in the United States amounted to -8.03 percent. Between 2001 and 2024, the figure dropped by 7.49 percentage points, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory. From 2024 to 2030, the budget balance will rise by 0.44 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.

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.

Graph and download economic data for Federal government budget surplus or deficit (-) (M318501A027NBEA) from 1952 to 2024 about budget, federal, government, GDP, and USA.

United States - Federal government budget surplus or deficit (-) was -1694.32800 Bil. of $ in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Federal government budget surplus or deficit (-) reached a record high of 236.23900 in January of 2000 and a record low of -3132.61100 in January of 2020. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Federal government budget surplus or deficit (-) - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on November of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Federal government budget surplus or deficit (-) (M318501Q027NBEA) from Q3 1959 to Q4 2024 about budget, federal, government, GDP, and USA.

United States Federal Government Surplus or Deficit: Off Budget data was reported at -12.284 USD bn in Oct 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 18.020 USD bn for Sep 2018. United States Federal Government Surplus or Deficit: Off Budget data is updated monthly, averaging 2.780 USD bn from Oct 1984 (Median) to Oct 2018, with 409 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 63.168 USD bn in Jun 2008 and a record low of -38.457 USD bn in Aug 2012. United States Federal Government Surplus or Deficit: Off Budget data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bureau of the Fiscal Service. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.F001: Federal Government Receipts & Outlays.

United States - Federal Surplus or Deficit [-] as Percent of Gross Domestic Product was -6.28277 % of GDP in September of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Federal Surplus or Deficit [-] as Percent of Gross Domestic Product reached a record high of 4.50401 in June of 1948 and a record low of -29.55255 in June of 1943. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Federal Surplus or Deficit [-] as Percent of Gross Domestic Product - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on November of 2025.

The United States recorded a Government Debt to GDP of 124.30 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product in 2024. This dataset provides - United States Government Debt To GDP - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Graph and download economic data for Total Federal Budget Surplus or Deficit for the United States (M1525AUSM144NNBR) from Jan 1879 to Sep 1915 about budget, federal, and USA.

Key information about US Consolidated Fiscal Balance

• United States Consolidated Fiscal Balance recorded a deficit equal to 128.640 USD bn in Jan 2025, compared with a deficit equal to 86.732 USD bn in the previous month.
• US Consolidated Fiscal Balance data is updated monthly, available from Oct 1980 to Jan 2025, with an average ratio of -29.149 USD bn.
• The data reached an all-time high of 308.215 USD bn in Apr 2022 and a record low of -864.074 USD bn in Jun 2020.

The Bureau of the Fiscal Service provides monthly Consolidated Fiscal Balance in USD. Consolidated Fiscal Balance covers Central Government only.