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Release · 2026-10-23 to 2026-10-23

The national debt fell $25.91 billion to $40.414 trillion on October 21, a day after a record $40.440 trillion

Treasury Fiscal Data's Debt to the Penny lists total public debt outstanding at 40,413,639,012,305.97 dollars as of Wednesday, October 21, 2026, down 25,907,003,733.11 dollars from 40,439,546,016,039.08 dollars on Tuesday, October 20. The October 20 total was the highest on record in the dataset and was up 43,144,895,554.03 dollars from 40,396,401,120,485.05 dollars on Monday, October 19. On October 21, intragovernmental holdings were 7,847,292,424,967.95 dollars, down 26.06 billion dollars from October 20, while debt held by the public was 32,566,346,587,338.02 dollars, up 148.1 million dollars. Total public debt outstanding is up 241,813,910,965.66 dollars from 40,171,825,101,340.31 dollars on September 30, 2026, the last day of fiscal year 2026. The October 19 and October 20 records were not filed separately; the last filed record was October 16.

Total public debt outstanding
$40,413,639,012,305.97 2026-10-21 · prior $40,439,546,016,039.08 (2026-10-20)
Total public debt outstanding, October 20 record
$40,439,546,016,039.08 2026-10-20 · prior $40,396,401,120,485.05 (2026-10-19)
Debt held by the public
$32,566,346,587,338.02 2026-10-21 · prior $32,566,198,492,042.62 (2026-10-20)
Intragovernmental holdings
$7,847,292,424,967.95 2026-10-21 · prior $7,873,347,523,996.46 (2026-10-20)
Total public debt outstanding$ billions$40,325B$40,350B$40,375B$40,400B$40,425B$40,450BOct 13Oct 14Oct 15Oct 16Oct 19Oct 20Oct 21Treasury Fiscal Data Debt to the Penny, October 13 to October 21, 2026 · vertical axis does not start at zero
Total public debt outstanding. Treasury Fiscal Data Debt to the Penny, October 13 to October 21, 2026. Share card.

Source: Debt to the Penny API, record dates September 30 to October 21, 2026 — U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service. Also: Debt to the Penny.

all 4 figures found at the source
  • found Total public debt outstanding = $40,413,639,012,305.97 — at U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service
  • found Total public debt outstanding, October 20 record = $40,439,546,016,039.08 — at U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service
  • found Debt held by the public = $32,566,346,587,338.02 — at U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service
  • found Intragovernmental holdings = $7,847,292,424,967.95 — at U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service

Related: Total public debt outstanding

Researched by Grok, checked against each source by an automated pass, edited by Clem Ziroli III. Published Oct 22, 2026, updated Oct 23, 2026.

This page is one print. The daily brief for October 22, 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.