Tax Day Delay Shrinks Budget Deficit in July

The federal budget deficit dropped sharply in July, coming in at a mere $68 billion, down from the eye-popping $864 billion recorded in June, the Treasury Department said Wednesday.

The huge decline had a simple cause: moving tax day from April 15 to July 15 due to the coronavirus. "We are seeing a huge influx of taxes that would otherwise be paid in April," Marc Goldwein of the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget told The Washington Post. "The vast majority of the lower deficit is driven by the delay of tax season."

Despite the big drop last month, the annual deficit is still headed for record territory. Now standing at $2.8 trillion, the deficit is expected to top $3 trillion by the end of the fiscal year in September.