“The federal government ran a budget deficit of $301 billion for the first seven months of fiscal year 2014, CBO estimates—$187 billion less than the shortfall recorded in the same span last year. Revenues were about 8 percent higher and outlays about 3 percent lower. Receipts for the first seven months of fiscal year 2014 totaled $1,735 billion, CBO estimates—$132 billion more than receipts in the same period last year. That increase is $10 billion to $20 billion less than what CBO expected when it published its most recent projections in its April 2014 report Updated Budget Projections: 2014 to 2024. The largest increases from the same period last year were the following: Individual income taxes and social insurance (payroll) taxes together rose by $94 billion, or 7 percent.

• Increases in amounts withheld from workers’ paychecks—amounting to $76 billion (or a 7 percent increase)—accounted for most of that gain. Besides growth in wages and salaries, changes in law contributed to the increases: The tax rates in effect from October 2013 through December 2013 (the first quarter of fiscal year 2014) were higher than those in effect from October 2012 through December 2012 because of two changes that occurred in January 2013—the expiration of the 2 percentage-point payroll tax cut and increases in tax rates for income above certain thresholds. Collections of withheld taxes are running about $20 billion above CBO’s expectations, much of that coming around the beginning of the calendar year and probably reflecting onetime factors, such as year-end bonus payments.”