US Budget Gap Narrows in November

The US government recorded a $94.6 billion budget deficit in January 2026, compared with a $128.6 billion deficit in the same month a year earlier. Receipts rose 9.1% year on year to $559.9 billion, driven by individual income taxes ($317.30 billion), social insurance and retirement receipts ($169.80 billion), and customs duties ($27.74 billion). The increase reflected seasonal and collection timing effects that supported tax and customs receipts in the month. Meanwhile, outlays rose 2.0% year on year to $654.6 billion, with Social Security ($143.55 billion), Health and Medicare ($217.09 billion), and national defense ($70.75 billion) the largest spending categories, while the timing of several payments, including Medicare and veterans’ benefits, influenced the monthly outturn.

The US government recorded a $144.7 billion budget deficit in December 2025, compared with a $86.7 billion deficit in the same month a year earlier. Receipts rose 6.6% year on year to $484.4 billion, driven by individual income taxes ($242.34 billion), social insurance and retirement receipts ($143.16 billion), and customs duties ($27.89 billion). The increase reflected seasonal and collection timing effects that supported tax and customs receipts in the month. Meanwhile, outlays rose 16.3% year on year to $629.1 billion, with Social Security ($144.90 billion), Health and Medicare ($216.54 billion), and national defense ($98.30 billion) the largest spending categories, while the timing of several payments, including Medicare and veterans’ benefits, influenced the monthly outturn.

The US government recorded a $173.3 billion budget deficit in November 2025, compared with a $366.8 billion deficit in the same month a year earlier. Receipts rose 11.4% year-on-year to $336.0 billion, driven by individual income taxes ($146.96 billion), social insurance and retirement receipts ($134.29 billion), and customs duties ($30.76 billion). The increase reflected seasonal and collection-timing effects that lifted tax and customs receipts in the month. Meanwhile, outlays fell 23.8% year-on-year to $509.3 billion, with Social Security ($133.97 billion), Health/Medicare ($25.10 billion) and national defense ($65.48 billion) the largest spending categories; several payments (including Medicare and veterans’ benefits) affected the timing of outlays.