Federal government ran a big deficit in October despite being closed for business

The government shutdown didn’t seem to do much to slow the pace of federal spending, as Uncle Sam kicked off the new fiscal year with a sharp rise in payouts for the month of October.

New Treasury Department data released Tuesday shows the government spent $689 billion for the month, up more than $100 billion compared to October 2024.

Much of that was due to shifts in timing. Since Nov. 1 was a weekend, the government front-loaded about $105 billion into October. Without that, spending in October would have been about the same as the same month in 2024, when there was no shutdown, the Treasury Department said.

Health and Veterans Affairs spending saw the biggest boosts, along with interest payments on the federal debt.

Government revenue was also up by nearly $80 billion, to reach $404 billion for the month. But that didn’t keep pace with the spending increase, leaving the government with a $284 billion deficit to start the new fiscal year.

Customs duties also surged to a record high of $31 billion in October, up from about $7 billion in the same month in 2024. The rise reflects President Trump’s new tariffs.

The new numbers are one yardstick of the effects of the longest shutdown in U.S. history, which ended with a deal to reopen the government on Nov. 12. Most federal civilian workers went without pay, though most automatic benefit payments still got made.

Treasury officials said they saw some clear signs of the shutdown in the numbers.

That included a $7 billion drop in Agriculture Department payouts and drops at the Defense, Commerce, Interior, Justice and State departments, as well as NASA.

Education Department spending was also lower, though Treasury officials said that was independent of the shutdown and related to lower elementary and secondary schooling payments.

Social Security spending rose, reflecting inflation adjustments, more retirees and the ongoing implementation of a new law allowing some public sector employees to collect Social Security in addition to pensions.

Interest on the debt also set a new monthly record, at $91 billion. That’s 27% higher than the same month last year.

The government ended fiscal year 2025 on Sept. 30 with a $1.8 trillion deficit. That was down $41 billion, or 2%, compared to the previous year, as revenue grew slightly faster than new spending.

The new fiscal year kicked off with the highest revenue and spending numbers ever seen in any October.

The monthly deficit totaled $284 billion, but that included the shifts in payments.

“Outlays for military active duty and retirement, veterans’ benefits, Supplemental Security Income, and Medicare payments to health maintenance organizations and prescription drug plans accelerated into October, because November 1, 2025, the normal payment date, fell on a non-business day,” Treasury said.

Adjusting for the timing, Treasury said the deficit would have been about $180 billion.

Health and Human Services, which oversees the big programs such as Medicare, saw its spending spike from $152 billion to $228 billion. Social Security’s spending rose from $130 billion to $145 billion.