Monthly Budget Review, September 2007: HTML and PDF: “The federal budget deficit was about $272 billion in the first 11 months of 2007, CBO estimates, $33 billion less than the shortfall in the same period last year. CBO anticipates that the government will realize a substantial surplus in September, stemming from quarterly payments of estimated income taxes and lower-than-normal outlays for Social Security and certain other benefits. (Because September 1 fell on a Saturday and September 3 was Labor Day, some benefit payments normally made on those dates were instead made in August.) The September surplus will bring the deficit down to $158 billion for the fiscal year ending September 30, CBO estimates. Relative to the size of the economy, the deficit for 2007 is expected to equal 1.2 percent of gross domestic product, down from 1.9 percent for 2006.”