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$217 billion owed and overdue: Money owed to the government that it isn't collecting
By the end of fiscal 2024, people and businesses owed federal agencies $217.3 billion in overdue non-tax debt. That year agencies collected $21.5 billion of overdue debt and wrote off $57.7 billion.
Every federal agency owed money
- Non-tax money owed to agencies$2.36 trillion1
- Overdue$217.3B1
- Overdue more than two years$156.2B (72%)1
- Overdue debt collected in FY2024$21.5B1
- Written off or closed out in FY2024$57.7B1
- Education$145.1B overdue1
- Small Business Administration$32.3B overdue1
- Social Security$6.9B overdue1
- Biggest debtors, by name████████████████
What happened
Every year Treasury reports what federal agencies are owed outside of taxes: student loans, small-business and disaster loans, benefit overpayments, fines and fees.
By September 30, 2024, $217.3 billion of it was overdue, and 72% had been overdue for more than two years.
Why nobody caught it
- Most of the overdue balance sits at Education ($145.1 billion) and SBA ($32.3 billion).
- In fiscal 2024 agencies wrote off or closed out $57.7 billion — more than two and a half times the $21.5 billion in overdue debt they collected.
How sure are we?
Money the government is owed and hasn't collected, by its own count.
Treasury's own count, from agency reports. Overdue debt is money owed, not money stolen, and some of it will still be collected.
Sources
- U.S. Government Receivables and Debt Collection Activities of Federal Agencies, FY2024 report to CongressU.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service · FY2024 report
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