Operating Cash Balance (Table I)

Table I of the Daily Treasury Statement reports the balance of the Treasury General Account (TGA) — the federal government’s checking account, held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Nearly every dollar the U.S. government handles flows through this account: tax receipts and the proceeds of Treasury auctions come in, while Social Security benefits, federal salaries, Medicare payments, interest on the debt, and tax refunds go out. The table shows the opening balance for today, the month, and the fiscal year (which begins October 1), along with the closing balance for the day.

The TGA balance is one of the most closely watched numbers in government finance. Because the account sits at the Federal Reserve, swings in its balance directly add or drain reserves in the banking system, so money-market and liquidity analysts track it daily. It also takes center stage during debt-ceiling standoffs, when the Treasury spends the account down while it cannot borrow — you can follow that headroom on the Debt Subject to Limit page (Table III-C). The day-to-day cash flows that move this balance are itemized in Deposits and Withdrawals (Table II). Use the date picker above to view the TGA balance on any business day back to 2005.