Monthly receipts totalled $403.751 billion and spending came in at $244.469 billion, resulting in a surplus of $159.282 billion, a 10.4% decline from the prior year.

Receipts for the fiscal year to date, beginning in October and running through the April accounting period, came in at $1,549.720 billion, up 3.0% from the same time a year ago.

Outlays, or government spending, totalled $1,701.909 billion, a 7.4% increase from one year ago.

The fiscal year-to-date deficit came in at $152.189 billion, an 88.5% increase over the prior year.

In the March 2008 budget, total receipts totalled $178.815 billion and outlays were $227.028 billion, resulting in a $48.212 billion deficit in the month. February's deficit was $175.563 billion, a record high, while January recorded a surplus of $17.8 billion.

By Patrick McGee, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it , edited by Nancy Girgis, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it