In fact, the United States received an amazing one-month wave of tariff receipts this past April. This historic infusion of cash has created historic challenges to the federal budget. Tariff revenue reached a new high of $16 billion for the month. This robust number has pushed the year-to-date total up to $63.3 billion. This figure represents an increase of more than 18% over the first five months of 2024. This increase highlights the economic toll of recent trade policies.
The bump in tariff receipts is entirely attributable to the 10 percent across-the-board tariffs levied on all U.S. imports. President Donald Trump began these tariffs on April 2. With this new round of tariffs, they will have yet another layer of selective duties on top of the existing ones. It signals a big victory in the tussling trade war that the Trump administration started. Contributing to the high receipts were huge U.S. Treasury receipts thus far this month. This recent surge is consistent with the typical April surplus, due in part to the income tax filing deadline.
The April surplus reached $258.4 billion, an impressive 23% year-over-year jump from the same period last year. This funding injection is huge. It contributes to decreasing the total budgetary deficit, an eternal preoccupation of the policymakers. Year-to-date, U.S. receipts are up just 5% compared to a 9% increase in expenditures. That brings the fiscal year-to-date total to $1.05 trillion, 13% more than last year at this time.
This was expected, as in April 2024 U.S. receipts jumped by 10% over last April. This robust growth speaks to the phenomenal momentum of annual performance. U.S. outlays fell by 4% annually over this same period. This transformation represents a sea change across the fiscal landscape as the nation learns to adapt to new economic realities and rethink our financial priorities.
Despite these encouraging signs in revenue collection, the national debt continues to be an extremely serious issue. In April, that $36.2 trillion national debt paid net interest of $89 billion. This amount turned out to be the second-largest spending item, surpassed only by Social Security. This ongoing drag further makes the case for prudent fiscal policy in the years ahead.