The first four months of fiscal year 2026 got off to an expensive start for the U.S., according to the latest estimates from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) .
The CBO released a report yesterday detailing that, for the first third of FY26 (which began in October), the U.S. government operated at a deficit, and so borrowed $696 billion. That included $94 billion in January alone, and works out to an average of $43.5 billion for each of the 16 weeks of the four months since.
While America’s government spending outweighs its revenue generation, its finances are also negatively compounded by the interest payments needed to maintain its debt. Total national debt now sits at more than $38.5 trillion. U.S. GDP is about $31 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Per Treasury data, up to Jan. 31, the interest expenses paid out have totaled $427 billion. Extending that trajectory over the course of a year, and with additional debt being added, requiring additional interest payments, the U.S. government will need to pay out $1 trillion annually to service its borrowing. This benchmark was first hit in FY2024 when interest payments totaled $1.13 trillion. In FY2025 that rose to $1.22 trillion.
