What does the Congressional Budget Office project for US debt?
In its February 2026 baseline, which we stored on , the Congressional Budget Office projects debt held by the public of $56.15 trillion at the end of fiscal year 2036, against $30.17 trillion in fiscal year 2025.
CBO's February 2026 baseline, year by year
| Fiscal year | Deficit | Debt held by the public | Debt subject to the limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,775,370 | 30,172,402 | 37,526,321 |
| 2026 | 1,852,703 | 32,095,165 | 39,581,431 |
| 2027 | 1,887,203 | 34,004,520 | 41,428,070 |
| 2028 | 2,079,658 | 36,092,745 | 43,445,902 |
| 2029 | 2,019,715 | 38,102,757 | 45,341,084 |
| 2030 | 2,200,642 | 40,279,639 | 47,341,065 |
| 2031 | 2,285,695 | 42,528,336 | 49,367,644 |
| 2032 | 2,439,418 | 44,922,490 | 51,630,350 |
| 2033 | 2,780,735 | 47,644,187 | 54,530,151 |
| 2034 | 2,818,500 | 50,393,853 | 57,510,290 |
| 2035 | 2,779,034 | 53,103,223 | 60,538,128 |
| 2036 | 3,115,387 | 56,152,391 | 63,846,379 |
Source: Congressional Budget Office, Budget and economic data (ten-year budget projections). Checked .
What this number cannot tell you
- These are CBO's projections under current law, not forecasts of what Congress will do, and not Treasury figures.
- CBO publishes billions with decimals; we show them in millions, so the last digits are rounding.
- A new baseline replaces this one when CBO publishes it; the vintage above says which one this is.
Sources and licence
Sources and licence
- Congressional Budget Office (source). Licence: Public domain, a work of the US federal government
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