Oct 16 (Reuters) - The US budget deficit rose by $217 billion to nearly $2 trillion in the 2026 fiscal year, fueled in part by tariff refunds and record spending to service the nation's more than $40 trillion in debt, marking the largest budget shortfall in five years, Treasury Department figures showed on Friday. Continued increases in spending for social benefits programs like Social Security and Medicare and a $48 billion jump in defense spending also factored into the increase. The $1.99 trillion deficit for the year ended September 30, the first full budget year of President Donald Trump's second term, was up from $1.78 trillion in fiscal 2025. It was the largest shortfall since fiscal 2021's $2.77 trillion budget gap, then fueled by COVID-19 pandemic relief spending, and is the third-largest annual deficit ever. Total receipts for fiscal 2026 were a record $5.40 trillion, up $169 billion, or 3%, from the $5.24 trillion in fiscal 2025. Fiscal 2026 out...
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