By David Lawder
(Reuters) – The U.S. government posted a $308 billion surplus in April — a record for any month — as receipts nearly doubled from a year earlier amid a strong economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday.
The April surplus compares to a $226 billion deficit for April 2021, when receipts were reduced by a one-month delay in the annual tax filing deadline until May 17.
The previous record monthly surplus was $214 billion in April 2018. April has traditionally been a budget surplus month due to the traditional April 15 tax filing deadline, but recent April deficits were recorded in 2009, 2010 and 2011 after a financial crisis, and in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a Treasury official told reporters.
April receipts rose 97% from a year earlier to $864 billion, also a record for any month, the Treasury said. April outlays fell 16% to $555 billion, reflecting lower spending for COVID-19 relief.
For the first seven months of the 2022 fiscal year, the government reported a deficit of $360 billion, down 81% from the year-earlier deficit $1.932 trillion. Year-to-date receipts swelled by 39% to $2.986 trillion — a record for the period — while outlays fell 18% to $3.346 trillion.
(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
