The National Debt
The national debt is everything the federal government has borrowed and not yet paid back. Here's how it differs from the deficit and how the debt limit works.
The basics
- A deficit happens in a single year when the government spends more than it takes in. The national debt is the total of all past borrowing that hasn't been paid back yet.
- To cover a deficit, the Treasury sells securities such as bills, notes and bonds. Each year's deficit adds to the debt, a bit like an unpaid credit card balance that keeps growing.
- As of October 15, 2026, the total debt was about $40.4 trillion, according to the Treasury's Debt to the Penny data. About $32.5 trillion was held by the public.
- Debt held by the public belongs to investors like individuals, banks, state, local and foreign governments, and the Federal Reserve. The rest is owed to government trust funds, the largest being Social Security's.
- Congress sets a debt limit, a cap on how much the government can borrow. Raising it doesn't approve new spending. It lets the Treasury pay bills that past laws already require.
Why it matters to you
The government pays interest on its debt, and that cost rises when the debt or interest rates go up. Money spent on interest can't be used for other programs, so the debt shapes choices in every budget.
Myth vs. fact
MythThe debt and the deficit are the same thing.
FactThe deficit is one year's shortfall. The debt is the running total of all past shortfalls that haven't been paid back.
MythRaising the debt limit approves new spending.
FactIt doesn't. It lets the government pay for things Congress and presidents have already approved.
Where people disagree
How should the country reduce future deficits?
Those who favor mainly spending cuts say
- The government should live within the money it already collects, and slowing spending growth gets at the source of deficits.
- Raising taxes could discourage work, saving and investment, which might slow the economy.
Those who favor mainly revenue increases say
- Raising more money, for example by changing tax rates or ending some tax breaks, can shrink deficits without cutting services.
- Big programs like Social Security, Medicare and defense are hard to cut without hurting the people who rely on them.
Those who favor a mix of both say
- Spreading the changes across spending and taxes shares the burden more widely, so no single group carries all of it.
- A plan that includes both is more likely to win support from lawmakers who hold different views.
We present the main arguments fairly. We don't take sides.
What you can do
- Look up today's total on the Treasury's Debt to the Penny page at fiscaldata.treasury.gov.
- Browse the Congressional Budget Office's Options for Reducing the Deficit to see the trade-offs of different ideas.
- Share your view with your members of Congress, who vote on federal spending, taxes and the debt limit.
Sources
- https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/national-debt/
- https://api.fiscaldata.treasury.gov/services/api/fiscal_service/v2/accounting/od/debt_to_penny?sort=-record_date&page[size]=3
- https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-markets-financial-institutions-and-fiscal-service/debt-limit
- https://www.cbo.gov/publication/56165
- https://www.cbo.gov/publication/60557
General information, not legal advice. Rules can vary by state; check your official sources.