The U.S. federal deficit totalled $1.992 trillion in fiscal year 2026, the Joint Economic Committee said in its Monthly Fiscal Update released on Thursday, October 22. Yaani, the government spent about $1,992 billion more than it collected in the year that ended September 30.

Source: Congress Joint Economic Committee

The FY2026 total is 12.23 percent higher than the FY2025 deficit of $1.775 trillion, according to the committee. In September alone, the federal government ran a deficit of $26.900 billion.

$1.992 trillionFY2026 federal deficit
$7.396 trillionFY2026 federal outlays
$5.403 trillionFY2026 federal receipts
12.23%Rise vs FY2025 deficit

Federal outlays rose to $7.396 trillion in FY2026, up 5.50 percent from $7.010 trillion in FY2025, while receipts rose to $5.403 trillion, up 3.22 percent from $5.235 trillion, the committee said. For every dollar the government received in revenue, it spent $1.37, and 26.94 percent of outlays were not paid for by revenues.

The Bipartisan Policy Center's Deficit Tracker, updated in October, put the preliminary FY2026 deficit at $1,993 billion — about $218 billion, or 12 percent, higher than last fiscal year — with revenues 3 percent higher and spending 6 percent higher. That tracker said customs duties were 11 percent lower than the year before, weighed down by tariff refunds, and cited Congressional Budget Office estimates that refunds of invalidated International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs totalled about $130 billion in FY2026.

Source: Bipartisan Policy Center — Deficit Tracker

What the figures mean

A deficit is the gap in one year between what the government spends and what it collects. The $1.992 trillion figure is that one-year gap for FY2026 — it is added to the accumulated national debt, which is a separate, larger total.

The Joint Economic Committee said the Congressional Budget Office's most recent 10-year projection had projected a $1.853 trillion deficit for FY2026, and forecasts deficits of $1.887 trillion in FY2027 and $2.080 trillion in FY2028. Those forecasts are projections, not results.

For families in the United States, including Punjabi diaspora households, the figures matter through what follows from sustained federal borrowing — interest costs, tax and spending decisions in Congress, and borrowing costs more broadly. The committee's release did not announce any new tax or spending decision on Thursday; it reported the year-end totals.