US Federal Net Interest Payments · % of GDP (quarterly)

## What this measures

Federal government interest payments minus federal interest receipts, as a percent of nominal GDP, each quarter at seasonally adjusted annual rates: (A091RC1Q027SBEA − B094RC1Q027SBEA) ÷ GDP × 100, a Palanor calculation from BEA's national accounts. Q1 1960 to Q2 2026; each value is dated the first day of its quarter.

## Why it matters

The fiscal-year figure arrives once a year; this one moves every quarter, so it shows the interest bill climbing as soon as higher rates reach the debt.

## How to read it

Higher means more of current output goes to paying the government's creditors. 3.70% in Q2 2026; the highest in this record is 4.54% (Q2 1991).

## What it does not say

National-accounts basis: BEA's federal interest payments include interest imputed on federal employees' unfunded pension liabilities, which the budget does not count, so the level runs above the fiscal-year net interest share (us.fiscal.net_interest_pct_gdp). Compare its changes, not its level, with the budget figure.

## Source

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, NIPA Table 3.2 (federal government current receipts and expenditures) and GDP, via FRED: A091RC1Q027SBEA, B094RC1Q027SBEA, GDP. Public domain. Palanor calculation in src/lib/sovereign/us-fiscal.ts.