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  • Revenue fell to $ 3.4 trillion in 2020 from $ 3.5 trillion the year before.
  • Spending increased to almost $ 6.6 trillion from $ 4.5 trillion.
  • Before COVID-19 emerged, the government hoped to spend just $ 4.8 trillion in 2020.

COVID-19 hurt the financial performance of the U.S. federal government in fiscal 2020, causing revenues to drop slightly and spending to increase sharply.

The federal government posted a deficit, or loss, of $ 3.1 trillion for 2020 on $ 3.4 trillion in revenue, compared to a loss of $ 1 trillion for 2019 on $ 3.5 trillion in revenue .

Large pandemic response programs contributed to an increase in total spending of nearly $ 6.6 trillion in 2020, up from $ 4.5 trillion the year before.

Originally, before the arrival of COVID-19, officials in former President Donald Trump’s administration hoped to keep federal government spending for fiscal 2020 at $ 4.8 trillion.

The overall gross domestic product of the United States, or national income, fell 2.3% to $ 21 trillion.

Budget documents

Officials at the Federal Office of Management and Budget, a branch of the White House, released fiscal 2020 results as part of the release of President Joe Biden’s budget proposal for fiscal 2022 .

The federal government’s fiscal year 2020 ended on September 30, 2020 and the government’s 2021 fiscal year began on October 1, 2020.