The Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) has projected the budget deficit for 2017 to be similar to 2016. CBO’s baseline estimate of the 2017 deficit is $559 billion, or 2.9 percent of gross domestic product—less than the $587 billion deficit posted in 2016. Both totals, however, are affected by shifts in the timing of some payments. Outlays in 2016—and thus the deficit—were boosted by $41 billion because certain payments that were to be made on October 1, 2016 (the first day of fiscal year 2017), were instead made in fiscal year 2016 because October 1 fell on a weekend.
For the full report and to download the PDF, visit https://www.cbo.gov/publication/52370
