The federal budget deficit was $1.1 trillion in the first half of fiscal year 2023, CBO estimates—$430 billion more than the shortfall recorded during the same period last year—and consistent with projections CBO released in February.
The federal budget deficit was $1.1 trillion in the first half of fiscal year 2023, the Congressional Budget Office estimates—$430 billion more than the shortfall recorded during the same period last year—and consistent with projections CBO released in February. Outlays were 13 percent higher and revenues were 3 percent lower from October through March than during the same period in fiscal year 2022.
Outlays in the past six months were reduced by the shifting of certain payments—totaling $63 billion—from October 1, 2022 (the first day of fiscal year 2023), into fiscal year 2022 because October 1 fell on a weekend. At the same time, outlays increased through March 2023 because certain payments that otherwise would have been due on April 1, a weekend, were made in March. The deficit in the first half of fiscal year 2023 would have been $10 billion smaller if those various shifts had not occurred.
