Federal Deficit Tops $2.1 Trillion in FY2021 Through May, Outpacing FY2020’s Record-Setting Deficit

This content leverages data from USAFacts, a non-profit that visualizes governmental data. You can learn more on its website, Facebook, and Twitter.

What’s the story?

• The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports that the federal budget deficit exceeded $2.1 trillion for the year to date when the first eight months of fiscal year 2021 came to a close in May. That surpasses last year’s deficit for the same period by $184 billion and puts the federal government on pace to post the largest budget deficit of all-time for the second consecutive year. 
• Budget deficits over the last two years have been significantly higher as the federal government ramped up spending to respond to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic through a variety of programs aimed at mitigating the economic and healthcare impacts of the pandemic.
• The USAFacts chart below shows monthly federal spending dating back to October 2018, when FY2019 began. Monthly spending ranged from $291 billion to $439 billion prior to the onset of the pandemic but has regularly been above $500 billion per month and soared as high as $1.1 trillion in June 2020:

• Thus far in FY2021, monthly spending has reached its highest levels in March ($927 billion), April ($665 billion), and May ($596 billion) following the enactment of a bipartisan $900 billion COVID deal in December 2020 and Democrats’ $1.9 trillion package in March 2021.
• This USAFacts chart shows the change in federal spending in a given month compared to the prior year:

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— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: iStock.com / Douglas Rissing)