The United States ended the 2026 fiscal year with a budget deficit of nearly $2 trillion, adding to concerns about the country’s growing national debt, according to CNBC. Figures released by the Treasury Department put the shortfall at $1.992 trillion, up roughly 12% from the $1.775 trillion recorded in fiscal 2025.
The latest figure marks the third-largest annual deficit in U.S. history, behind only 2020 and 2021, when the federal government spent heavily on financial relief during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both government revenue and spending reached record levels in fiscal 2026, according to a Treasury Department official, but the money coming in was still insufficient to cover the government’s expenses.
