The US Treasury Department reported a $293B federal budget deficit for May 2026, a figure that landed almost exactly on the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate of $294B.
The May deficit represents a $21B improvement compared to the same month in 2025, according to CBO estimates. Through the first eight months of fiscal year 2026, which started in October 2025, the cumulative deficit has reached roughly $1.2 trillion.
Full-year projections for FY2026 point to a total deficit of around $2 trillion. That would mark a meaningful escalation from FY2025, which wrapped up with a deficit of approximately $1.8 trillion.
The 12-month rolling deficit as of May 2026 sits at $1.7 trillion.
Interest payments on the national debt have become one of the largest line items in the federal budget. The CBO has been consistently projecting deficits in the $2 trillion range for the foreseeable future.
