Updated: 12-May-26 14:39 ET
Highlights
- The Treasury Department reported a $215.0 billion surplus for April (Briefing.com consensus: $202.5 bln), which was $43 billion less than the surplus reported for April 2025.
- Receipts totaled $837.3 billion, while outlays reached $622.3 billion.
- Individual Income Taxes ($515 billion) were the largest source of receipts in April, followed by Social Insurance & Retirement ($196 billion). Customs duties brought in $22 billion, bringing the fiscal year-to-date total to $189 billion.
- The largest outlays by function were Social Security ($139 billion), Net Interest ($97 billion), Medicare ($88 billion), and National Defense ($77 billion).
- The fiscal year-to-date deficit is $953 billion versus $1.049 trillion in the same period a year ago.
- The budget deficit over the last 12 months is $1.680 trillion versus $1.637 trillion in March.
- The key takeaway from the report is the recognition that a healthy level of tax receipts helped fuel a narrowing in the fiscal year-to-date deficit versus the year-ago period. Moreover, the deficit for the 12-month period ending in April is down 16% from the same period a year ago.
| Category | APR | MAR | FEB | JAN | DEC |
| Deficit (-)/Surplus | $215.0B | -$164.1B | -$307.5B | -$94.6B | -$144.7B |
| Deficit (-)/Surplus Fiscal YTD | -$953.0B | -$1168.6B | -$1004.5B | -$697.0B | -$602.3B |
| Deficit (-)/Surplus over last 12 months | -$1680.2 | -$1636.9B | -$1633.2B | -$1632.8B | -$1666.8B |
