The federal budget deficit was $1.4 trillion in the first nine months of fiscal year 2023, CBO estimates—$875 billion more than the shortfall recorded during the same period last year.
The federal budget deficit was $1.4 trillion in the first nine months of fiscal year 2023, the Congressional Budget Office estimates—$875 billion more than the shortfall recorded during the same period last year. Revenues were 11 percent lower and outlays were 10 percent higher from October through June than they were during the same period in fiscal year 2022.
Shifts in the timing of certain payments affect that comparison. Outlays in the first nine months of fiscal year 2023 were increased, on net, by $23 billion as a result of the shifting of certain payments both into and out of that period because the regular payment date fell on a weekend. The larger set of those shifts boosted outlays in June 2023 because July 1 was a Saturday. If not for those timing shifts, the deficit in the first nine months of 2023 would have been smaller— $1,367 billion rather than $1,390 billion.
