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The U.S. Treasury just shocked Americans with $258B surplus – the second largest surplus in its history

The budget deficit is what we expect from Uncle Sam. After all, without years of overspending, the federal government will not bear trillions of dollars in debt. However, the latest monthly Treasury statement brings rare (welcome) surprises.

In April 2025, the U.S. government collected $850.2 billion in revenue while spending $591.8 billion, with a monthly budget surplus of $258.4 billion.

This is not only any surplus – it is the first monthly surplus for fiscal year 2025 (starting in October 2024) and the second largest monthly surplus in U.S. history, second only to the $308.2 billion surplus in April 2022.

Does this mean that President Trump’s plan is working?

According to the U.S. Treasury Department, surplus is driven by “large personal tax deposits”, with April the final payment date for the previous year’s tax and a quarterly estimated tax for many individuals and businesses.

Personal income tax alone brought in $537 billion, the biggest contributor to government revenue in April so far. Social insurance and retirement income earned $184 billion, while corporate income tax increased $94 billion.

Tariffs – a reflection of Trump's tariffs – generated $15.6 billion in April, more than double the $6.3 billion collected the same month last year. Nevertheless, tariff revenues remain moderate compared to other major contributors.

In terms of spending, the biggest spending this month is $132 billion in Social Security, followed by $89 billion in net interest, $82 billion in Medicare, $76 billion in health and $70 billion in defense.

Despite a large surplus, a strong month is not enough to reverse the broader fiscal trend. From October 1 to April 30, the U.S. government brought in $3.11 trillion in revenue but spent $4.159 trillion, resulting in a $1.049 trillion deficit for the fiscal year so far.

Therefore, it is no surprise that state debt continues to soar. As of this writing, the total outstanding debt of the U.S. government has reached an astonishing $36.212 trillion.

takeout? To run a surplus, you must earn more than your expenses. It could be a daunting task for government juggling countless plans – but for individuals it is a surprisingly simple (and achievable) strategy.

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