Release · 2026-09-23 to 2026-09-23

Total public debt outstanding was $40.098 trillion on September 22

Treasury Fiscal Data's Debt to the Penny listed total public debt outstanding at 40097834028442.07 dollars as of September 22, compared with 40112118151111.92 dollars on September 21. Debt held by the public was 32375685818022.20 dollars, compared with 32402191477341.65 dollars on September 21. Intragovernmental holdings were 7722148210419.87 dollars, compared with 7709926673770.27 dollars on September 21. The one-business-day change of -14284122669.85 dollars mixed a 26.51 billion dollar decline in debt held by the public with a 12.22 billion dollar rise in intragovernmental holdings.

Total public debt outstanding: $40,097,834,028,442.07 2026-09-22 · prior $40,112,118,151,111.92 (2026-09-21)
Debt held by the public: $32,375,685,818,022.2 2026-09-22 · prior $32,402,191,477,341.65 (2026-09-21)
Intragovernmental holdings: $7,722,148,210,419.87 2026-09-22 · prior $7,709,926,673,770.27 (2026-09-21)

Source: Debt to the Penny, September 22, 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 = $40,097,834,028,442.07 — at U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service
found Debt held by the public = $32,375,685,818,022.2 — at U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service
found Intragovernmental holdings = $7,722,148,210,419.87 — 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 FEDPOLICY.ORG. Published Sep 23, 2026.

This page is one print. The daily brief for September 23, 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.