The federal budget deficit totaled $696 billion in the first four months of fiscal year 2026, CBO estimates. That amount is $143 billion less than the deficit recorded during the same period last fiscal year.
The federal budget deficit totaled $696 billion in the first four months of fiscal year 2026, the Congressional Budget Office estimates. That amount is $143 billion less than the deficit recorded during the same period last fiscal year. Revenues rose by $189 billion (or 12 percent), and outlays were $45 billion (or 2 percent) higher.
Outlays in the first four months of each year were boosted by shifts of certain payments that otherwise would have been due on February 1, which fell on a weekend. If not for those shifts, the deficit thus far would have been $600 billion, $152 billion less than the shortfall for the same period in fiscal year 2025.
On February 11, CBO will publish The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2026 to 2036, which will describe CBO's assessments of the budgetary effects of the 2025 reconciliation act, tariffs, and changes in federal approaches to immigration, among other areas.
