Release · 2026-09-17 to 2026-09-18

Total public debt outstanding was $40.094 trillion on September 16

Treasury Fiscal Data's Debt to the Penny listed total public debt outstanding at 40,094,080,427,790.97 dollars as of September 16, compared with 40,114,445,691,166.84 dollars on September 15. Debt held by the public was 32,406,353,922,774.30 dollars, compared with 32,406,391,951,586.01 dollars on September 15. Intragovernmental holdings were 7,687,726,505,016.67 dollars, compared with 7,708,053,739,580.83 dollars on September 15. The one-day decline of 20,365,263,375.87 dollars was almost entirely in the intragovernmental account.

Total public debt outstanding: $40,094,080,427,790.97 2026-09-16 · prior $40,114,445,691,166.84 (2026-09-15)
Debt held by the public: $32,406,353,922,774.3 2026-09-16 · prior $32,406,391,951,586.01 (2026-09-15)
Intragovernmental holdings: $7,687,726,505,016.67 2026-09-16 · prior $7,708,053,739,580.83 (2026-09-15)

Source: Debt to the Penny, September 16, 2026 — U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service. Also: Debt to the Penny, Debt to the Penny API, latest records.

all 3 figures found at the source

found Total public debt outstanding = $40,094,080,427,790.97 — at U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service
found Debt held by the public = $32,406,353,922,774.3 — at U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service
found Intragovernmental holdings = $7,687,726,505,016.67 — at U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service

Researched by Grok, checked against each source by an automated pass, edited by Clem Ziroli III. Published Sep 17, 2026, updated Oct 21, 2026.

This page is one print. The daily brief for September 17, 2026 is the editor's cut of what mattered that day. Figures are as the named sources printed them. The methodology says how this page is made and what is checked.