U.S. Net Interest Reached $1.052 Trillion, Exceeding Defense Spending

Net interest payments on U.S. public debt reached $1.052 trillion in fiscal 2026, exceeding defense spending and taking about one-fifth of federal receipts as the government posted a $1.992 trillion deficit.

The interest bill rose 8% from $970 billion in fiscal 2025, an increase of $82 billion. Federal receipts grew 3.2% to about $5.40 trillion, leaving net interest at roughly 20% of collections.

Defense spending totaled $965 billion, about $87 billion less than net interest. The interest bill also came in $21 billion below Medicare spending of $1.073 trillion, placing it between those two spending totals for the fiscal year.

Net interest subtracts interest income received by the Treasury from its gross interest costs. The fiscal 2026 deficit reached $1.992 trillion, up 12%, as detailed in TokenPost’s earlier fiscal 2026 budget coverage.