Government Receipts and Expenditures
First Quarter of 2024
Net government saving, the difference between current receipts and current expenditures in the federal government and state and local governments, was −$1,754.0 billion in the first quarter of 2024, increasing $38.4 billion from −$1,792.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023 (charts 1 and 2 and table 1).
“Net lending or net borrowing (−)” is an alternative measure of the government fiscal position. Net borrowing is the financing requirement of the government sector, and it is derived as net government saving plus the consumption of fixed capital and net capital transfers received less gross investment and net purchases of nonproduced assets.
Net borrowing was $2,088.4 billion in the first quarter, decreasing $37.0 billion from $2,125.4 billion in the fourth quarter (charts 3 and 4 and table 1).
| Line | Component | Level | Change from preceding quarter | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | ||||
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | ||
| 1 | Current receipts | 7,800.1 | −56.0 | 114.6 | 131.5 | 263.2 |
| 2 | Current expenditures | 9,554.1 | 57.4 | 141.5 | 46.4 | 224.9 |
| 3 | Net government saving | −1,754.0 | −113.3 | −26.9 | 84.9 | 38.4 |
| 4 | Federal | −1,579.5 | 8.0 | 1.6 | 10.8 | 73.8 |
| 5 | State and local | −174.5 | −121.3 | −28.5 | 74.1 | −35.4 |
| 6 | Net lending or net borrowing (−) | −2,088.4 | −150.9 | −472.3 | 438.6 | 37.0 |
| 7 | Federal | −1,790.8 | −14.9 | −428.6 | 394.2 | 81.0 |
| 8 | State and local | −297.5 | −136.0 | −43.7 | 44.5 | −44.0 |
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Net federal government saving was −$1,579.5 billion in the first quarter, increasing $73.8 billion from −$1,653.3 billion in the fourth quarter (table 2). In the first quarter, current receipts and current expenditures accelerated relative to the fourth quarter.
Federal government net borrowing was $1,790.8 billion in the first quarter, decreasing $81.0 billion from $1,871.8 billion in the fourth quarter.
- Personal current taxes (line 3) accelerated in the first quarter, increasing $164.9 billion after increasing $11.1 billion in the fourth quarter, reflecting an acceleration in nonwithheld taxes. The acceleration in nonwithheld taxes reflects an acceleration in declarations and final settlements and a downturn in refunds, which are a subtraction in the calculation of nonwithheld taxes. Annual changes for final settlements and refunds, which are primarily based on tax liabilities for previous years, are recorded in the first quarter of the year.
- Taxes on production and imports (line 4) turned up, increasing $1.9 billion after decreasing $2.0 billion. Customs duties accelerated, increasing $3.5 billion after increasing $0.2 billion in the fourth quarter.
- Taxes on corporate income (line 5) accelerated in the first quarter, increasing $24.4 billion after increasing $11.4 billion in the fourth quarter.
- Contributions for government social insurance (line 7) accelerated in the first quarter, increasing $36.4 billion after increasing $7.5 billion in the fourth quarter, reflecting the pattern of wages. Contributions for FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act) by employers, employees, and the self-employed accelerated as well as contributions for Supplementary Medical Insurance premiums paid by persons.
- Income receipts on assets (line 8) decelerated in the first quarter, increasing $1.0 billion after increasing $16.2 billion in the fourth quarter. The previous quarter included the end of a temporary moratorium on the collection of interest on direct student loans originally authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.
- Current transfer receipts (line 9) turned down in the first quarter, decreasing $22.5 billion after increasing $31.1 billion in the fourth quarter, reflecting downturns in both fines and penalties paid by foreign businesses and domestic businesses. The first quarter includes a fine paid to the federal government from Cummins for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act. The fourth quarter includes a fine paid to the federal government from Binance for violations related to the Bank Secrecy Act, failure to register as a money transmitting business, and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
- Consumption expenditures (line 12) accelerated, increasing $15.7 billion in the first quarter after increasing $13.8 billion in the fourth quarter. National defense consumption expenditures accelerated, reflecting an upturn in spending for defense. Partially offsetting the acceleration in defense consumption expenditures, nondefense consumption expenditures decelerated, reflecting a downturn in spending for nondefense services.
- Government social benefits to persons (line 17) accelerated in the first quarter, increasing $106.2 billion after increasing $3.9 billion in the fourth quarter. The acceleration in the first quarter is based on an acceleration in social security benefits, reflecting a 3.2 percent cost-of-living adjustment in January. Payments of health insurance premium tax credits related to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) turned up, reflecting an increase in the number of people enrolled in ACA plans. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits turned up in the first quarter after decreasing in the fourth quarter.
- Grants-in-aid to state and local governments (line 20) turned down in the first quarter, decreasing $13.2 billion after increasing $23.1 billion in the fourth quarter, reflecting downturns in Medicaid grants and education grants.
- Interest payments (line 22) decelerated in the first quarter, increasing $33.4 billion after increasing $44.5 billion, reflecting a deceleration in interest paid on public issues of debt.
- Capital transfer payments (line 33) decreased less in the first quarter, decreasing $5.5 billion after decreasing $396.2 billion in the fourth quarter. The first quarter includes $47.6 billion of student loan forgiveness. The fourth quarter includes $55.2 billion of student loan forgiveness.
| Line | Component | Level | Change from preceding quarter | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | ||||
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | ||
| 1 | Current receipts | 5,019.7 | 29.5 | 55.7 | 76.0 | 207.4 |
| 2 | Current tax receipts | 3,026.0 | 7.6 | 24.0 | 21.4 | 191.9 |
| 3 | Personal current taxes | 2,364.7 | −5.9 | 13.6 | 11.1 | 164.9 |
| 4 | Taxes on production and imports | 171.5 | −1.6 | −3.8 | −2.0 | 1.9 |
| 5 | Taxes on corporate income | 453.8 | 14.7 | 14.7 | 11.4 | 24.4 |
| 6 | Taxes from the rest of the world | 36.1 | 0.4 | −0.5 | 0.8 | 0.9 |
| 7 | Contributions for government social insurance | 1,845.3 | 20.2 | 22.7 | 7.5 | 36.4 |
| 8 | Income receipts on assets | 64.5 | −1.1 | 5.4 | 16.2 | 1.0 |
| 9 | Current transfer receipts | 75.7 | 2.7 | 3.8 | 31.1 | −22.5 |
| 10 | Current surplus of government enterprises | 8.1 | 0.2 | −0.2 | −0.2 | 0.5 |
| 11 | Current expenditures | 6,599.2 | 21.5 | 54.1 | 65.2 | 133.6 |
| 12 | Consumption expenditures | 1,375.8 | 4.2 | 39.1 | 13.8 | 15.7 |
| 13 | National defense | 803.7 | 4.9 | 24.2 | 5.3 | 9.3 |
| 14 | Nondefense | 572.1 | −0.7 | 14.9 | 8.5 | 6.4 |
| 15 | Current transfer payments | 4,067.7 | −16.9 | −59.9 | 10.0 | 87.2 |
| 16 | Government social benefits | 3,073.6 | −15.5 | 0.9 | 3.9 | 107.3 |
| 17 | To persons | 3,040.2 | −16.1 | 0.4 | 3.9 | 106.2 |
| 18 | To the rest of the world | 33.5 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.2 |
| 19 | Other current transfer payments | 994.0 | −1.5 | −60.7 | 6.1 | −20.2 |
| 20 | Grants-in-aid to state and local governments | 928.4 | −0.5 | −55.6 | 23.1 | −13.2 |
| 21 | To the rest of the world | 65.7 | −0.9 | −5.3 | −16.9 | −6.9 |
| 22 | Interest payments | 1,059.2 | 35.8 | 71.7 | 44.5 | 33.4 |
| 23 | Subsidies | 96.5 | −1.5 | 3.2 | −3.1 | −2.8 |
| 24 | Net federal government saving | −1,579.5 | 8.0 | 1.6 | 10.8 | 73.8 |
| 25 | Social insurance funds | −566.5 | −1.7 | 9.7 | −13.7 | −30.8 |
| 26 | Other | −1,013.0 | 9.7 | −8.1 | 24.5 | 104.6 |
| Addenda: | ||||||
| 27 | Total receipts | 5,047.7 | 30.3 | 53.8 | 76.4 | 205.9 |
| 28 | Current receipts | 5,019.7 | 29.5 | 55.7 | 76.0 | 207.4 |
| 29 | Capital transfer receipts | 28.0 | 0.8 | −1.9 | 0.4 | −1.5 |
| 30 | Total expenditures | 6,838.6 | 45.2 | 482.4 | −317.8 | 125.0 |
| 31 | Current expenditures | 6,599.2 | 21.5 | 54.1 | 65.2 | 133.6 |
| 32 | Gross government investment | 461.6 | 9.5 | 8.5 | 14.2 | 1.7 |
| 33 | Capital transfer payments | 159.6 | 17.8 | 428.0 | −396.2 | −5.5 |
| 34 | Net purchases of nonproduced assets | 0.0 | 0.1 | −3.8 | 3.6 | −0.1 |
| 35 | Less: Consumption of fixed capital | 381.8 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.7 |
| 36 | Net lending or net borrowing (−) | −1,790.8 | −14.9 | −428.6 | 394.2 | 81.0 |
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Net state and local government saving was −$174.5 billion in the first quarter, decreasing $35.4 billion from −$139.1 billion in the fourth quarter. In the first quarter, current receipts decelerated, and current expenditures accelerated, relative to the fourth quarter (table 3).
In the first quarter, net state and local government borrowing was $297.5 billion, increasing $44.0 billion from $253.5 billion in the fourth quarter.
- Personal current taxes (line 3) turned down in the first quarter, decreasing $8.2 billion after increasing $16.0 billion in the fourth quarter, reflecting a downturn in personal income taxes.
- Taxes on corporate income (line 5) decelerated in the fourth quarter, increasing $3.4 billion after increasing $17.0 billion in the fourth quarter.
- Federal grants-in-aid (line 9) turned down in the first quarter, decreasing $13.2 billion after increasing $23.1 billion in the fourth quarter, reflecting a downturn in Medicaid grants and education grants.
- Other current transfer receipts (line 10) accelerated in the first quarter, increasing $48.5 billion after increasing $1.4 billion. The first quarter includes three fines paid by businesses to local governments.
- Consumption expenditures (line 13) accelerated in the first quarter, increasing $38.4 billion after decreasing $18.7 billion in the fourth quarter, reflecting an upturn in spending on nondurable goods, specifically petroleum. In addition, spending on compensation of government employees accelerated.
- Government social benefits (line 14) turned up in the first quarter, increasing $49.6 billion after decreasing $12.4 billion in the fourth quarter, largely reflecting an upturn in Medicaid combined.
- Interest payments (line 15) decreased more in the first quarter, decreasing $10.0 billion after decreasing $1.9 billion in the fourth quarter, reflecting a larger decrease in interest on accrued pension liabilities.
| Line | Component | Level | Change from preceding quarter | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | ||||
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | ||
| 1 | Current receipts | 3,708.8 | −86.0 | 3.3 | 78.6 | 42.6 |
| 2 | Current tax receipts | 2,441.5 | −83.7 | 58.9 | 51.4 | 5.6 |
| 3 | Personal current taxes | 584.4 | −53.9 | 47.8 | 16.0 | −8.2 |
| 4 | Taxes on production and imports | 1,688.0 | −7.9 | 13.0 | 18.4 | 10.4 |
| 5 | Taxes on corporate income | 169.1 | −21.8 | −2.0 | 17.0 | 3.4 |
| 6 | Contributions for government social insurance | 24.3 | −0.1 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 1.5 |
| 7 | Income receipts on assets | 101.0 | 0.8 | −0.5 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| 8 | Current transfer receipts | 1,160.0 | 0.1 | −54.5 | 24.4 | 35.3 |
| 9 | Federal grants-in-aid | 928.4 | −0.5 | −55.6 | 23.1 | −13.2 |
| 10 | Other | 231.6 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 48.5 |
| 11 | Current surplus of government enterprises | −18.0 | −3.1 | −1.0 | 1.1 | −0.1 |
| 12 | Current expenditures | 3,883.2 | 35.3 | 31.8 | 4.4 | 78.0 |
| 13 | Consumption expenditures | 2,501.0 | −10.8 | 55.6 | 18.7 | 38.4 |
| 14 | Government social benefits | 1,094.8 | 31.8 | −29.9 | −12.4 | 49.6 |
| 15 | Interest payments | 286.7 | 14.3 | 6.1 | −1.9 | −10.0 |
| 16 | Subsidies | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 17 | Net state and local government saving | −174.5 | −121.3 | −28.5 | 74.1 | −35.4 |
| 18 | Social insurance funds | 5.4 | −0.2 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 1.3 |
| 19 | Other | −179.8 | −121.1 | −28.9 | 73.4 | −36.6 |
| Addenda: | ||||||
| 20 | Total receipts | 3,807.5 | −79.4 | 7.3 | 76.6 | 43.6 |
| 21 | Current receipts | 3,708.8 | −86.0 | 3.3 | 78.6 | 42.6 |
| 22 | Capital transfer receipts | 98.7 | 6.7 | 4.0 | −2.0 | 1.0 |
| 23 | Total expenditures | 4,105.0 | 56.6 | 51.1 | 32.1 | 87.6 |
| 24 | Current expenditures | 3,883.2 | 35.3 | 31.8 | 4.4 | 78.0 |
| 25 | Gross government investment | 602.6 | 23.0 | 21.8 | 30.3 | 13.3 |
| 26 | Capital transfer payments | … | … | … | … | … |
| 27 | Net purchases of nonproduced assets | 20.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| 28 | Less: Consumption of fixed capital | 401.0 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 3.9 |
| 29 | Net lending or net borrowing (−) | −297.5 | −136.0 | −43.7 | 44.5 | −44.0 |
- …
- Data not available
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
