New data shows the US government's $166 billion tariff refund process is quickly tapering off

For the first time in months, the US government took in more tariff revenue than it paid out in refunds, as the $166 billion tariff refund process appears to be winding down.

The data released Friday in the Treasury Department's statement showed that the US paid out $10.5 billion in tariff refunds in August while taking in $23.3 billion, the first net positive reading since April.

It was another sizable drop in the refund side of the ledger after July tariff refunds totaled $33.4 billion and June figures came in at $49.1 billion .

Approximately $166 billion in total duties, plus interest, were ordered refunded by courts earlier this year following the Supreme Court's Feb. 20 decision striking down the wide-ranging tariffs President Trump imposed under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

A government-run tariff refund portal opened in late April, and the government has now paid out about $115 billion in total tariff refunds since May, with the lion's share going to repay unlawful IEEPA duties.

Friday's release also gave a glimpse into the government's overall books 11 months into the current fiscal year, showing a deficit of $1.966 trillion with one month to go before the government's fiscal year ends on Sept. 30.

That was a jump of over $160 billion from $1.799 trillion at the end of July and comes after the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently projected that the final 2026 deficit will hit $2.1 trillion.

The CBO had increased its deficit projection earlier this year by about $200 billion "mostly because of smaller-than-expected collections of tariff duties."

Many promises for spending the tariff money

August's uptick in tariff revenue comes as the Trump administration continues to promise that future tariff revenues could pay for things like President Trump's idea this week to send $5,000 to every adult US citizen if Republicans win the midterm election.

That plan, if implemented, could add another $1.3 trillion to the $40 trillion gross national debt .

Vice President JD Vance suggested this week that the payments could come from tariff revenues as the US "continues to create wealth." But projections indicate that tariff revenues would cover only a small fraction of the total cost of $5,000 checks.

The nonpartisan Tax Foundation recently noted that Trump's proposal would be akin to spending the projected tariff revenue over the entire coming decade in one fell swoop.

Overall tariff revenues are beginning to grow again after holding basically flat after the Supreme Court's decision.