People naturally assume that the annual Deficit is the total that the Federal government borrows each year. Actually this is not so. The Deficit is simply the difference between Federal Outlays and Federal Receipts. Usually, the Feds borrow a lot more than the official Deficit.
Like below, in $ billion:
Like below, in $ billion:
| Year | Gross Debt | Debt Increase | Federal Deficit | Other Borrow |
| 2000 | 5629 | 24 | -236 | 259 |
| 2005 | 7905 | 551 | 318 | 232 |
| 2010 | 13529 | 1653 | 1294 | 359 |
| 2011 | 14764 | 1235 | 1300 | -64 |
| 2012 | 16051 | 1287 | 1087 | 200 |
| 2013 | 16719 | 669 | 680 | -11 |
| 2014 | 17795 | 1075 | 485 | 590 |
| 2015 | 18120 | 326 | 438 | -113 |
| 2016 | 19540 | 1420 | 585 | 835 |
| 2017 | 20206 | 666 | 666 | 0 |
| 2018 | 21462 | 1156 | 779 | 478 |
| 2019 | 22668 | 1206 | 984 | 221 |
We have provided the difference between the Debt increase and the Deficit for each year under "Other Borrowing" on the Spending Details page. There are two items:
"Borrowings from Govt. Accounts" = Increase in Debt held by government, also known as "Federal Securities Held as Investments of Government Accounts" in Table 6, Schedule D of the Monthly Treasury Statement.
"Other Liability Increase" = (Increase in Total Federal Securities) - (Official Deficit) - (Borrowings from Govt. Accounts)
"Borrowings from Govt. Accounts" = Increase in Debt held by government, also known as "Federal Securities Held as Investments of Government Accounts" in Table 6, Schedule D of the Monthly Treasury Statement.
"Other Liability Increase" = (Increase in Total Federal Securities) - (Official Deficit) - (Borrowings from Govt. Accounts)
Other Borrowing = (Increase in Federal Debt) - (Official Deficit)
But what does it mean?
"Borrowings from Govt. Accounts" means everything from spare cash in some federal agency to excess monies contributed to various Trust Funds from Social Security to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund.
"Other Liability Increase" is everything else on the Federal balance sheet, from changes in operating cash in the Treasury's Federal Reserve Account to IMF transactions. See Table 6 in the Monthly Treasury Statement.
Note that these numbers do not include the unfunded liabilities of the federal government's entitlement programs.
Updated 12/18/2019.
But what does it mean?
"Borrowings from Govt. Accounts" means everything from spare cash in some federal agency to excess monies contributed to various Trust Funds from Social Security to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund.
"Other Liability Increase" is everything else on the Federal balance sheet, from changes in operating cash in the Treasury's Federal Reserve Account to IMF transactions. See Table 6 in the Monthly Treasury Statement.
Note that these numbers do not include the unfunded liabilities of the federal government's entitlement programs.
Updated 12/18/2019.
