12-Month Rolling Deficit is $1.6 Trillion in January 2026

The federal government has borrowed $1.6 trillion over the past 12 months based on the latest estimates from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

CBO estimates that the January 2026 deficit totaled $94 billion – with $560 billion in revenue and $654 billion in outlays. The monthly deficit in January 2026 is $35 billion less than the $129 billion deficit in January 2025. If not for timing shifts on both ends of the month, the deficit would have been $87 billion. Total monthly outlays were $12 billion more than January 2025, while total revenue in January was $47 billion more than the previous year due mainly to an increase in collections of customs duties from tariff policies and collections of income and payroll taxes.

Over the past 12 months, total revenue was $5.4 trillion compared to $4.9 trillion over the same period prior. Spending was $7.1 trillion over the past 12 months matching the $7.1 trillion in the same period prior. We estimate the $1.6 trillion rolling deficit is about 5.3% of Gross Domestic Product.