The nation’s deficit hit a non-COVID record high in Pres. Joe Biden’s last fiscal year (FY) and rose in his last full quarter, U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) data show.
In FY24 (Oct. 2023-Sept. 2024), the federal budget deficit increased $138 billion to $1.833 trillion (up 8%) from FY23, hitting the highest level for any non-COVID year in the nation’s history and the third-highest mark ever.
In the first quarter of FY25, the deficit rose another $200 billion, compared to the same period a year earlier. That change in the deficit was influenced by the timing of outlays and revenues, which decreased the deficit during the first three months of fiscal year 2024 but increased it during the same period this fiscal year. Otherwise, the deficit would have been $125 billion higher than the shortfall in the first quarter of FY24.
The FY24 deficit rose even though total federal government revenues rose 11% from FY23 – to a fiscal year record high $4.919 trillion. While total federal government receipts increased by $479 billion in FY24, net outlays spiked $617 billion.
As a percentage of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the deficit in FY24 was at a historically-high level, the CBO reports:
“In 2024, the deficit was equal to 6.4 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), an increase from 6.2 percent of GDP in 2023. The 2024 deficit as a share of GDP is greater than the 50‑year average of 3.8 percent and has been exceeded only six times since 1946 (from 2009 through 2012 and in 2020 and 2021).”
