The U.S. government’s budget deficit for June sharply narrowed to $66 billion, thanks to a shift in benefit payments into May, which swelled that month’s deficit to $347 billion, the Treasury Department reported Thursday.
This $66 billion deficit marks a notable 71% decrease from June 2023’s $228 billion shortfall.
However, without the calendar adjustments in both years, the June 2024 deficit would have stood at $159 billion, a modest 3% rise from the previous year.
June receipts reached $466 billion, an 11% increase from June 2023.
This uptick was partly influenced by deferred non-withheld individual income tax payments from several states last year, following natural disasters, which had suppressed June 2023’s receipts.
Meanwhile, June outlays dropped 18% to $532 billion. Adjusting for the calendar effects, the outlays would have risen by 11% to $625 billion.
This figure also included a $60 billion boost for the Department of Education, reflecting long-term student loan subsidy adjustments due to recent debt relief changes.
For the first nine months of fiscal 2024, the deficit decreased by 9% to $1.268 trillion, down from $1.393 trillion in the same period of fiscal 2023. The fiscal year ends on September 30.
Year-to-date receipts climbed 10% to $3.754 trillion, while outlays increased by 5% to $5.022 trillion, according to the Treasury.
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