WASHINGTON, March 11 (Reuters) - The U.S. budget deficit

for February was nearly flat with a year earlier at $308 billion

as growth in receipts and outlays was largely even, with

receipts from President Donald Trump's tariffs not yet

reflecting the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling against many of his

duties last month.

The U.S. Treasury Department said February receipts came in

at $313 billion, up $17 billion or 6% from a year earlier, while

outlays for the month totaled $621 billion, up $17 billion or 3%

from February 2025, which was the first full month of Trump's

second term. Both receipts and outlays for February were

records, a Treasury official said.

Receipt growth was driven in part by a $15 billion increase

in individual withheld income taxes in February, partly

reflecting the payment of 2025 year-end bonuses, a Treasury

official said. This was offset by a $7 billion increase in

corporate tax refunds and a $6 billion increase in individual

tax refunds driven by last year's Republican-passed tax cut

legislation.

The report showed a slight cooling of net customs duties in

February to $26.6 billion, compared with $27.7 billion in

January and over $30 billion in the final months of last year.

But the Treasury official said the budget data largely does

not reflect tariff reductions resulting from the Supreme Court's

decision striking down duties under the International Emergency

Economic Powers Act as illegal, as tariffs are generally paid a

month in arrears. The Customs and Border Protection agency

stopped assessing those tariffs on imports starting on February

24.

The official said it was unclear how any IEEPA tariff refunds

would show up in the data. CBP is preparing a streamlined refund

process ordered by the Court of International Trade, and the

Trump administration has imposed a new, temporary 10% duty for

150 days.

The growth in February's outlays was partly driven by

interest on the public debt, which grew $8 billion or 9% to $93

billion. Military outlays rose $6 billion or 9% to $67 billion.

For the first five months of the 2026 fiscal year, the

Treasury reported a deficit of $1.004 trillion, down $142

billion, or 12% from the same period a year earlier. Fiscal

year-to-date receipts rose $205 billion, or 11% to $2.098

trillion, while outlays rose $63 billion, or 2%, to $3.012

trillion.