Federal Government Reports Small Surplus for January

Makes tiny dent in deficit

The federal government reported a rare surplus for January and is on track to run its smallest annual budget deficit since President Barack Obama took office.

The Treasury Department said Tuesday that the government took in a surplus of $2.9 billion in January. That's the first monthly surplus since April, a month that benefited from income tax payments.

January's budget benefited from an estimated $9 billion in extra revenue from higher Social Security taxes. That helped lowered the deficit through the first four months of the budget year to $290.4 billion — nearly $60 billion lower than the same period a year ago.

The budget year began on Oct. 1.