WASHINGTON — The federal government ran a $192.3 billion budget deficit in February, the Treasury Department reported Thursday.
The February deficit followed a $17.5 billion deficit in January and was slightly larger than the median $190.5 billion deficit predicted by economists polled by Thompson Reuters.
Outlays in February totaled $331.7 billion, compared to $324.3 billion in January. Receipts totaled $139.4 billion in February, compared to $306.7 billion for the previous month.
In February 2014, the government ran a $193.5 billion deficit.
A Treasury official said that 49 of the last 61 Februarys have had deficits. Tax refunds and associated tax credits generally begin to be paid in earnest in February of each year, the official said.
Fiscal year to date, there was a $386.5 billion deficit, compared to a $376 billion deficit for the same period last year. The federal fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
Year-over-year changes to February and year-to-date results were impacted by timing-related transactions, Treasury said. Taking into account calendar adjustments, February 2015 would have had a $194 billion deficit, $1 billion less than the adjusted deficit in February 2014. The fiscal-year-to-date deficit through February 2015 would have been $349 billion, $6 billion more than the adjusted fiscal-year-to-date deficit through February 2014.
