By Tito Baron Media News Desk
Source-based reporting | November 13, 2026
The United States recorded a $404 billion budget deficit in October, opening its new fiscal year with a substantially larger gap between revenue and spending than a year earlier. Reuters reported Treasury figures on Thursday, noting that the timing of benefit payments inflated the headline total.
Federal receipts were $369 billion, down 9% year on year, while outlays reached $773 billion, up 12%. The deficit was $120 billion, or 42%, larger than the previous October. These figures describe one month, not the projected shortfall for the full fiscal year.
After adjusting for payment-calendar shifts, Reuters put the October deficit at $285 billion, still up 49% year on year. Payments scheduled for November can be moved into October, changing monthly totals without an equivalent change in underlying policy.
In its November 9 review, the Congressional Budget Office put the fiscal 2026 deficit at $1.992 trillion, or 6.2% of GDP. Revenue grew 3% during that completed year, but spending increased 6%. CBO identified mandatory programmes, interest payments and military spending among major drivers of higher outlays.
Federal debt held by the public reached 100% of GDP. Debt is accumulated borrowing, whereas the deficit is the revenue-spending gap over a given period. October is the first month of fiscal 2027. Tax-payment schedules and spending timing make a single month an incomplete guide to the eventual annual result.
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