April saw a record high of over $16 billion in tariff revenues, contributing to a reduction in the budget deficit.

Shipping containers are seen at the port of Oakland, as trade tensions continued over U.S. tariffs with China, in Oakland, California, on May 12, 2025. Carlos Barria | Reuters Receipts from U.S. tariffs hit a record level in April as revenue from President Donald Trump’s trade measures started kicking in. Customs duties totaled $16.3 billion for the month, some 86% above the $8.75 billion collected during March and more than double the $7.1 billion a year ago, the Treasury Department reported Monday. That brought the year-to-date total for the duties up to $63.3 billion and more than 18% ahead of the same period in 2024. Trump instituted 10% across-the-board tariffs on U.S. imports starting April 2, which came on top of other select duties he had previously imposed.

While the U.S. is still running a significant budget deficit, the influx in tariffs helped reduce some of the imbalance for April, a month in which the Treasury generally runs a surplus due to the income tax filing deadline hitting mid-month. The surplus totaled $258.4 billion for the month, up 23% from the same period a year ago. This brought the fiscal year-to-date total to $1.05 trillion, which is still 13% higher than a year ago.

Additionally, on an annual basis, receipts rose 10% in April from 2024, while outlays declined 4%. Year to date, receipts are up 5%, while expenditures have risen 9%. High interest rates continue to pose a budgetary burden. Net interest on the $36.2 trillion national debt totaled $89 billion in April, higher than every other category except Social Security. For the fiscal year, net interest has reached $579 billion, also the second highest of any outlay.