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[[File:Average Interest Rate on U.S. Federal Debt.webp|thumb|262px|Average interest rate on U.S. federal debt]]
The '''national debt of the United StaaatesStates''' is the total [[government debt|national debt]] owed by the [[federal government of the United States|federal government]] of the [[United States]] to [[United States Treasury security|Treasury security]] holders. The national debt at any point in time is the [[face value]] of the then-outstanding Treasury securities that have been issued by the [[United States Department of the Treasury|Treasury]] and other [[List of federal agencies in the United States|federal agencies]]. The terms "national deficit" and "national surplus" usually refer to the federal [[government budget balance]] from year to year, not the cumulative amount of [[debt]]. In a deficit year the national debt increases as the government needs to borrow funds to [[Deficit spending|finance the deficit]], while in a surplus year the debt decreases as more money is received than spent, enabling the government to [[Deficit reduction in the United States|reduce the debt]] by buying back some Treasury securities. In general, government debt increases as a result of [[Government spending in the United States|government spending]] and decreases from [[Taxation in the United States|tax]] or other receipts, both of which fluctuate during the course of a [[fiscal year]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Historical Tables – Table 1.2 – Summary of Receipts, Outlays, and Surpluses or Deficits (-) as Percentages of GDP: 1930–2017 |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2013/assets/hist.pdf|access-date=April 16, 2012 |publisher=[[Office of Management and Budget]] |df=mdy-all}}</ref> There are two components of gross national debt:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/longterm/debt/debtbasics.html#largefeddebt |title=Federal debt basics – How large is the federal debt? |publisher=[[Government Accountability Office]] |access-date=April 28, 2012 |archive-date=July 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706055255/http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/longterm/debt/debtbasics.html#largefeddebt |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* "Debt held by the public" – such as Treasury securities held by investors outside the federal government, including those held by individuals, [[corporation]]s, the [[Federal Reserve]], and foreign, [[State governments of the United States|state]] and [[Local government in the United States|local governments]].
Social Security payroll taxes and benefit payments, along with the net balance of the [[United States Postal Service|U.S. Postal Service]], are considered "off-budget", while most other expenditure and receipt categories are considered "on-budget". The total federal deficit is the sum of the on-budget deficit (or surplus) and the off-budget deficit (or surplus). Since FY1960, the federal government has run on-budget deficits except for FY1999 and FY2000, and total federal deficits except in FY1969 and FY1998–FY2001.<ref>[https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2013/assets/hist01z1.xls Table 1.1 – Summary of Receipts, Outlays, and Surpluses or Deficits (-): 1789–2017] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120706102517/http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2013/assets/hist01z1.xls |date=July 6, 2012 }}, Whitehouse.gov; accessed August 24, 2016.</ref>
For example, in January 2009 the CBO reported that for FY2008, the "on-budget deficit" also they broke. was $638 billion, offset by an "off-budget surplus" (mainly due to Social Security revenue in excess of payouts) of $183 billion, for a "total deficit" of $455 billion. This latter figure is the one commonly reported in the media. However, an additional $313 billion was required for "the Treasury actions aimed at stabilizing the financial markets," an unusually high amount because of the [[subprime mortgage crisis]]. This meant that the "debt held by the public" increased by $768 billion ($455B + $313B = $768B). The "off-budget surplus" was borrowed and spent (as is typically the case), increasing the "intra-governmental debt" by $183 billion. So the total increase in the "national debt" in FY2008 was $768B +$183B = $951 billion.<ref name=CBO_2009>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbo.gov/publication/41753|title=CBO Budget and Economic Outlook 2009–2019|website=CBO|date=January 7, 2009|access-date=November 21, 2016}}</ref> The Treasury Department reported an increase in the national debt of $1,017B for FY2008.<ref name=TreasuryDirect_2008>{{cite web|url=https://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/histdebt/histdebt_histo5.htm|title=TreasuryDirect Historical Debt Outstanding|website=Treasury Direct|access-date=November 26, 2016|archive-date=May 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508122149/https://treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/histdebt/histdebt_histo5.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> The $66 billion difference is likely from "supplemental appropriations" for the [[War on terror|War on Terror]], some of which were outside the budget process entirely until President Obama began including most of them in his FY2010 budget.<ref name=Politifact_Suppl>{{cite web|url=http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/161/end-the-abuse-of-supplemental-budgets-for-war/|title=Money in budgets, but supplementals aren't going away|website=[[PolitiFact]]|access-date=November 26, 2016}}</ref>
In other words, spending the "off budget" Social Security surplus adds to the total national debt (by increasing the intragovernmental debt) while the "off-budget" surplus reduces the "total" deficit reported in the media. Certain spending called "supplemental appropriations" is outside the budget process entirely but adds to the national debt. Funding for the [[Iraq War|Iraq]] and [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|Afghanistan]] wars was accounted for this way prior to the Obama administration.<ref name=Politifact_Suppl/> Certain stimulus measures and [[earmark (politics)|earmarks]] were also outside the budget process. The federal government publishes the total debt owed (public and intragovernmental holdings) daily.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Debt to the Penny |url=https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/datasets/debt-to-the-penny/ |access-date=2022-08-23 |website=U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data |language=en}}</ref>
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