Welcome to the new Bureau of the Public Debt website!

What We Do

Summary Debt Accounting

A Complete Accounting

The Summary Debt Accounting program is key to meeting our responsibility to account for the more than $9 trillion of public debt and more than $400 billion in related annual interest expenses.

This program provides the overarching control structure for dozens of subordinate securities systems and reconciles more than $77 trillion of securities transactions and related cash flows handled by these subsystems annually. These cash flows represent funds received from the sale of securities and funds disbursed as interest and principal payments.

The program produces daily reports on the balances and composition of the public debt, the Monthly Statement of the Public Debt, and the annual, audited Schedules of Federal Debt, which reports on the single largest liability in the annual Financial Report of the United States Government.

We have always been committed to maintaining excellent accounting controls to ensure the integrity of operations and the accuracy of information provided to the public.  The strength of our accounting controls is reflected in the unqualified audit opinions we have consistently received on our Schedules of Federal Debt.

Our strategies for the Summary Debt Accounting program are:

  • Provide timely and accurate data concerning the public debt of the United States.
  • Redefine and modernize the debt accounting environment.
  • Improve the clarity, usefulness, and availability of federal debt financial information.

Learn About

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Did You Know

The national debt is broken down into 2 main categories, securities held by: (1) the public, and (2) government accounts. The public holds roughly 56% of the public debt.

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