United States Government Budget

The U.S. government recorded an $87 billion budget deficit in December, following a substantial $367 billion gap in the previous month. The December deficit was partly reduced by shifting benefit payments into November but still led to a record $711 billion shortfall for the first three months of fiscal 2025. The calendar shift reduced the December deficit by $51 billion, compared to a $129 billion deficit in December 2023. Monthly receipts rose by 6% to $454 billion, while outlays decreased by 3% to $541 billion. For the October-December period, the deficit was $201 billion, or 39%, higher than the $510 billion shortfall in the same period the previous year, driven by substantial increases in outlays and slight declines in revenues.

The US government reported a $367 billion budget deficit for November 2024, marking a 17% increase from the prior year, driven in part by calendar adjustments that shifted December Medicare and Social Security payments into November, adding approximately $80 billion to outlays. Excluding these adjustments, the deficit would have been about $29 billion, 9% lower than a year ago. Both receipts and outlays reached record highs for November, with receipts rising 10% to $302 billion and outlays increasing 14% to $669 billion. For the first two months of the 2025 fiscal year, which began on October 1, the cumulative deficit hit a record $624 billion, up 64% from the same period last year, surpassing even the COVID-19-era deficits. This surge was further influenced by tax payment deferrals expiring in 2023 due to California wildfires and other disasters. Year-to-date receipts declined 7% to $629 billion, while outlays rose 18% to $1.253 trillion.

The US government budget deficit surged nearly four-fold to $257 billion in October 2024, up 287% from $67 billion in the same month of the preceding year, largely due to one-off factors and calendar adjustments in benefit payments. Without these adjustments, the deficit would have been $47 billion, 22% higher than the previous year. The increase came as federal receipts fell 19% to $327 billion, while spending rose 24% to $584 billion. The new fiscal year follows President Biden’s administration ending fiscal 2024 with a $1.83 trillion deficit, the highest outside the COVID-19 period. While Social Security, Medicare, and military spending increased, the Treasury saw an 8% decline in public debt service costs, marking the first year-on-year decrease since August 2023.