US fiscal 2026 budget deficit rises to $1.99 trillion, largest in five years

The US budget deficit rose by $217 billion to $1.99 trillion in the 2026 fiscal year, fueled in part by tariff refunds and record spending to service the nation’s more-than-$40 trillion debt, marking the largest budget shortfall in five years, Treasury Department figures reported on Friday showed.

The results for the year ended September 30, the first full budget year of President Donald Trump’s second term, compared to a $1.78 trillion deficit in fiscal 2025. It was the largest shortfall since fiscal 2021’s $2.77 trillion budget gap, then fueled by COVID-19 pandemic relief spending, and is the third-largest annual deficit ever.

Total receipts for fiscal 2026 were a record $5.40 trillion, up $169 billion or 3% from fiscal 2025. Outlays were also a record at $7.40 trillion, up $386 billion or 6%. Debt-service outlays totaled a record $1.36 trillion, climbing by $144 billion or 12% — a spending category now eclipsed only by Social Security and the combined outlays for Medicare and Medicaid. Total US debt breached the $40 trillion milestone about two months ago.

Another driver was a $22 billion drop in net tariff receipts following a Supreme Court ruling this year negating a large portion of the tariffs Trump had imposed during his first year in office. That triggered $145 billion of tariff refunds over the year, resulting in an 11% decline in net tariff income to about $173 billion. A Treasury official said the department calculated an estimated deficit-to-GDP ratio of 6.2% for fiscal 2026, versus 5.8% for fiscal 2025.

Sources: Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-fiscal-2026-budget-deficit-rises-199-trillion-largest-5-years-2026-10-16/), citing US Treasury Department figures.