The U.S. government ran a $215 billion budget surplus in April, the Treasury Department reported on Tuesday. That result is $43 billion, or 17%, smaller than the $258 billion surplus recorded in April of the prior year.
The Treasury attributed the decline largely to an increase in tax refunds paid to individuals and to higher government spending. Among the spending pressures cited were rising interest costs and heavier military expenditures connected to the war in Iran.
Individual tax refunds in April totaled $101 billion, an increase of $14 billion, or 17%, versus April 2025. The Treasury said the rise in refunds reflected several newly enacted tax benefits, specifically breaks related to tips, Social Security retirement payments, overtime premium pay and domestic car loan interest.
Corporate tax activity also shifted in April. Corporate receipts fell $8 billion, or 8%, from a year earlier, to $89 billion, while corporate refunds roughly doubled to $6 billion.
On a broader basis, total receipts for the month were $837 billion, down $13 billion, or 2%, from the same month a year earlier. Meanwhile, outlays in April rose $31 billion, or 5%, to $622 billion.
Net customs receipts came in at $22.1 billion for April, about level with March 2026 and below the monthly peaks in the low $30 billion range reported late last year. That April customs figure was higher than the $15.6 billion reported in April 2025 - the first month of the administration's so-called "Liberation Day" emergency global tariffs, a policy that was later struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The April customs total included $2 billion in refunds. The Treasury said that the refunds figure is expected to increase in May's budget results as court-ordered refund payments from the Customs and Border Protection agency began flowing on Tuesday. The Treasury noted that about $166 billion in tariff payments remain potentially subject to refunds.
Looking at the fiscal year-to-date picture, for the first seven months of fiscal 2026 - which ends on September 30 - the deficit narrowed by $95 billion, or 9%, from the same period a year earlier, falling to $954 billion.
What this means
- The April surplus declined despite a still-large positive monthly balance, reflecting the combined effect of higher individual refunds and increased outlays.
- Customs and tariff-related refund activity is emerging as a factor that could further alter near-term monthly receipts.
- On a fiscal year-to-date basis, the deficit has fallen compared with the year-earlier period.