US refunds $22 billion in tariffs, canceling out customs revenue

Daniel Flatley and Laura Curtis, Bloomberg News on Jun 10, 2026

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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Treasury refunded nearly $22 billion in tariff revenue collected from importers in May, the first swath of such repayments since the Supreme Court struck down a major component of President Donald Trump’s trade policy.

The amount was roughly equal to tariffs taken in during the month, according to a Treasury Department statement Wednesday, meaning that refunds essentially canceled out the government’s duties revenue.

Overall, the deficit narrowed to $1.25 trillion for the first eight months of the fiscal year, representing a 9% decline from the same period last year.

The administration began processing refunds in April after the Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump didn’t have the authority to impose tariffs using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. But the eventual extent of the reimbursements remains uncertain after the administration appealed a court order to refund every importer who paid the $166 billion collected under IEEPA authority.

When Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was asked about the tariff refund case during a congressional hearing last week, he said the money would be returned to the companies that imported the tariffed goods.

Revenue from tariffs, which peaked in October, made a significant contribution to the Treasury’s coffers during the 2025 fiscal year, resulting in the smallest deficit in three years. Bessent has said revenue collected through tariffs imposed using other authorities will result in the same amount hitting the government’s coffers in 2026 but some of those measures are not fully in place.

The interest the U.S. paid on its debt was $133 billion in May, an increase of 44% over the same month last year. Individual tax withholdings plus Social Security and Medicare taxes collected increased to $286 billion in May from $247 billion last year, while corporate tax receipts were down by 67%.

For the full fiscal year, the U.S. deficit is expected to widen, based on Congressional Budget Office projections. The nonpartisan outfit said in its February outlook that the deficit would reach $1.85 trillion for the 2026 fiscal year and with $1.89 trillion for 2027.

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