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Mini story / Public revenue

The customs headline is not the cash kept.

Gross customs collections rose sharply. Refunds explain why net fiscal-year-to-date revenue tells a different story.

Public Spending Data · · 2 min read · English

Editorial snapshot · Trade: July 2026 · Cash: August 2026 · Rates: 8 September 2026. Not a live tracker.

Collections rose sharply.
Net revenue barely rose.

Across all goods and trading partners, the U.S. collected $292.5 billion in customs duties through August. But it also paid $125.2 billion in refunds.

U.S. customs cash · same October–August period in each fiscal year

Net revenueRefunds paid
FY 2025$171.9bn collected
$165.2bn net$6.7bn refunded
FY 2026$292.5bn collected
$167.3bn net$125.2bn refunded
Refunds paid this year can relate to earlier imports. These bars show cash in and out during each period, not refunds on the same batch of goods.
Read the chart data and source notes
U.S. customs cash, October–August in each fiscal year
Fiscal yearGross (USD bn)Refunds (USD bn)Net (USD bn)
2025171.96.7165.2
2026292.5125.2167.3

U.S. Treasury, Monthly Treasury Statement · MTS Table 4 (mts_table_4), Customs Duties; current_month_gross_rcpt_amt, current_month_refund_amt, current_month_net_rcpt_amt · Extracted 2026-09-20.

Refunds paid in a month can relate to earlier imports. Figures in display tables are rounded.

The net result: +1.3% year on year.$167.3bn versus $165.2bn. More gross collections did not mean a comparable increase in net revenue.

Source: U.S. Treasury, Monthly Treasury Statement. All customs duties, not just the new tariffs.

The right fiscal comparison here is the same October–August window, not a trailing 12 months and not a completed-year total against an incomplete year. Net cash is useful for the government’s budget. It is not a score for the whole economy.

Source dates, definitions and the complete seven-chart story →