The federal government has seen a surge in money through the first six months of the fiscal year, helping to offset a small rise in spending and cutting the size of the budget deficit by 11%.
Payroll and individual income tax payments were up significantly, rising more than $100 billion over the last six months, compared with the same period a year earlier. That overshadowed a drop in corporate income taxes.
Tariff income was also up over the last six months, though it slid slightly in March after the Supreme Court declared President Trump’s first round of global tariffs unlawful in February.
That income more than outpaced an $84 billion increase in spending over the first six months of fiscal year 2026.
All told, the government collected $2.483 trillion over that time, spent $3.651 trillion and recorded a deficit of $1.169 trillion.
That’s down from a deficit of $1.307 trillion at this point in 2025.
Republicans celebrated the numbers.
Rep. Jodey Arrington, chair of the House Budget Committee, said credit went to “cutting bureau waste” and higher revenue.
“If we continue cutting waste and fraud from the federal government as well as incentivizing economic growth, we will stabilize the debt and put our nation on a credible path to balance,” the Texas Republican said.
The biggest changes in spending came in Social Security benefits and Medicare and Medicaid funding, where the number of beneficiaries is rising and so are costs for services.
Interest payments on the debt also topped $600 billion over the last six months, by far a record pace as the government pays now for spending it banked before but borrowed to cover.
Defense Department spending was up 4%, though the Treasury Department said that’s more a reflection of personnel costs and research and development than any ramifications of the U.S. attack on Iran.
Spending at Homeland Security was down because there have been fewer natural disasters requiring payouts.
Treasury Department officials said the data doesn’t yet reflect much of the changes in tariffs after the Supreme Court ruling. The March customs duty data is largely based on February, and the justices didn’t rule until near the end of that month.
Before the ruling, the duties had been a bright spot on the ledger, pumping a large amount of cash into the government’s accounts.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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