US budget surplus surges to $258 billion in April, year-to-date deficit tops $1 trillion

Ann Saphir

Mon, May 12, 2025, 12:09 PM 3 min read

By Ann Saphir

(Reuters) -The U.S. authorities posted a $258 cardinal fund surplus for April, up 23%, oregon astir $49 billion, from a twelvemonth earlier, reflecting beardown taxation receipts successful the last period of the taxation play and grounds collections of import duties, the Treasury Department said connected Monday.

Treasury reported that customs duties successful April totaled $16 billion, astir a $9 cardinal summation from the year-earlier play and acold eclipsing the erstwhile grounds of $9.6 cardinal 2 years earlier. The leap occurred during a period successful which President Donald Trump boosted tariffs connected Chinese goods to arsenic overmuch arsenic 145% portion slapping astatine slightest 10% levies connected imports of goods from different countries.

The fund results bespeak the U.S. collected conscionable implicit $500 cardinal a time from tariffs successful April. Trump past period said the collections were astir $2 cardinal a day.

For the archetypal 7 months of the fiscal year, nett customs duties totaled $63 billion, compared with $48 cardinal successful the aforesaid play a twelvemonth earlier.

That caller revenue, however, is apt to driblet off. The U.S. and China implicit the play reached a woody to temporarily easiness their steep tariffs connected each other, with the U.S. cutting its 145% duties to 30% for the adjacent 90 days, portion Chinese levies connected U.S. imports volition autumn to 10% from 125%.

Receipts past period were driven by a 16% summation successful idiosyncratic non-withheld taxation payments, which totaled $460 billion. Individual refunds besides roseate 16% to $86 billion, detracting from nett full fund receipts of $850 cardinal for the month.

Treasury reported a $1.049 trillion fund shortage for the archetypal 7 months of fiscal 2025, which started Oct. 1, up 23%, oregon $194 billion, from a twelvemonth earlier. Fiscal year-to-date receipts of $3.110 trillion and outlays of $4.159 trillion were some records for the twelvemonth done April, though the shortage itself was not, a Treasury authoritative said.

After accounting for calendar differences that exaggerated outlays recorded successful 2024 and $85 cardinal successful deferred taxation receipts from California that had boosted fiscal-year 2024 receipts, the shortage would person been 4% higher, according to the official.

The 5% summation successful unadjusted fiscal year-to-date receipts was driven by a 6% summation successful idiosyncratic paycheck taxation withholdings to $2.145 trillion, accounting for the lion's stock of the full fund receipts.

The 9% summation successful unadjusted fiscal-year-to-date outlays was driven by higher spending connected the Medicare wellness programme for seniors and the disabled, which was up 16% to $658 billion, and connected the Medicaid programme for lower-income Americans, which was up 6% to $378 billion. Both programs saw enrollment ascent and work costs rise.