Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.
Yes.
The federal budget deficit exceeded $1.6 trillion during the first 10 months of fiscal 2023, the Treasury Department reported Aug. 10, 2023.
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, alluded to the figure in an Aug. 25 interview.
A deficit occurs when government spending exceeds revenues.
The period covered by the report was Oct. 1, 2022, through July 31, 2023. (Federal fiscal years run Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.)
The government spent $5.3 trillion and took in $3.7 trillion during the 10 months.
The largest expenditure, $1.1 trillion, was on Social Security.
The largest source of receipts, $1.8 trillion, was individual income taxes.
Recent full-year deficits were $1.4 trillion (fiscal 2022), $2.8 trillion (2021), $3.1 trillion (2020) and $1 trillion (2019). Spending in response to the COVID-19 pandemic raised deficits.
In the last 50 years, the budget has run a surplus five times, most recently in 2001, according to Treasury.
This Fact Brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
U.S. Department of the Treasury | Bureau of the Fiscal Service: Treasury monthly report (Table 1)
Sean Spicer (YouTube): It’s Okay Because Hunter Biden Did It | Ep. 5
FiscalData: US Deficit by Year
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
