US President Joe Biden, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, speaks during a meeting with his cabinet at the White House in Washington, DC, on March 3, 2022.

Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images

The U.S. government ran up another half a trillion dollars in red ink in the first quarter of its fiscal year, the Treasury Department reported Thursday.

For the period from October 2023 through December 2023, the budget deficit totaled just shy of $510 billion, following a shortfall of $129.4 billion in just December alone, which was 52% higher than a year ago. The jump in the deficit pushed total government debt past $34 trillion for the first time.

Compared to last year, which saw a final deficit of $1.7 trillion, 2024 is running even hotter.

In the first quarter of fiscal 2023, for example, the difference between spending and receipts totaled $421.4 billion. On an unadjusted basis, that’s an increase of $89 billion between fiscal 2024 and last year. Adjusted for calendar factors, the Treasury Department said the change between the two years is actually $97 billion. December’s shortfall was higher by more than $34 billion compared to the previous year, driven by higher Social Security payments and interest costs.

If the current pace continues, 2024 would end with a deficit of just more than $2 trillion.