The figure represents a nearly four-fold increase from the same period last year, according to Treasury Department data released Friday. The surge in tariff income helped push total federal revenue to a record monthly high of $526 billion, up 13 percent from June 2024.
Federal spending fell 7 percent to $499 billion, resulting in a monthly budget surplus of $27 billion. However, the Treasury noted that accounting for welfare payment timing adjustments, the government would have faced about a $70 billion deficit.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hailed the results as vindication of President Donald Trump's trade strategy.
"As President Trump works hard to take back our nation’s economic sovereignty, today’s monthly Treasury Statement is demonstrating record customs duties – and with no inflation," Bessent wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Tariffs have rapidly emerged as a major revenue source for the federal government, with their share of total tax collection doubling from 2 percent to 5 percent in about four months. The levies now rank as the government's fourth-largest income source, trailing only withheld income taxes, non-withheld income taxes, and corporate taxes.
For the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2024, tariff revenue reached $113.3 billion over nine months, marking the first time such collections exceeded $100 billion in a fiscal year. The previous record underscored the dramatic shift in U.S. trade policy under the current administration.
Trump has signaled further escalation, promising that "big money coming in" when higher reciprocal tariffs take effect from August 1. Bessent predicted during a Cabinet meeting last week that tariff revenue could exceed $300 billion this year.
The revenue windfall comes as interest payments on the national debt continue climbing, reaching $921 billion over nine months of the fiscal year, representing a 6 percent increase from the previous year.
reporter
Kim Dong-young
davekim0807@ajupress.com
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