How much tariff revenue did the United States collect in 2023?

1. Why $80.3 billion is the number analysts cite and what it actually measures

The $80.3 billion figure reflects customs duties recorded in fiscal year 2023 and appears in summary receipts compilations that break down federal revenue by source ^[1]. Customs duties are the direct line item that captures tariffs on imported goods; therefore, most analysts and government accountants treat customs duties as the operational definition of tariff revenue. This figure is lower than the FY2022 peak—reflecting both changes in import volumes and tariff policy—but it is the clearest, single-year tally that officials and data aggregators cite when asked how much the government raised from import taxes in FY2023 ^[1].

2. Where reporting can cause confusion and why other numbers appear

Press accounts and policy analyses sometimes report different numbers because of differences in fiscal year boundaries, inclusion of “other” import-related receipts, or projections versus actuals. Some pieces describe cumulative receipts from multiple tariff programs or count additional levies tied to trade policy, producing larger multi-year or program-wide totals ^[3]. Others report a rounded “about $80 billion” without the decimal ^[2]. The Treasury and budget summaries that list receipts by source remain the most precise sources for the FY2023 customs duties line, while journalistic accounts vary depending on whether they emphasize policy impacts or single-year accounting ^[1].

3. Context: recent trendlines show volatility and a FY2022 peak

Customs duties rose substantially during recent years, peaking at about $108.2 billion in FY2022, then falling to $80.3 billion in FY2023 and to a still-different figure in FY2024, illustrating volatility tied to trade flows and tariff policy changes ^{[4] [1]}. Analysts highlight that these swings reflect a mix of economic conditions—import volumes, commodity prices—and policy actions such as new tariffs or the removal of existing ones. The year-to-year drop is significant in percentage terms, and it underscores that tariff receipts are sensitive to both macroeconomic cycles and discrete policy choices, not a stable revenue base ^{[1] [4]}.

4. Alternative measures and their interpretive pitfalls

Some commentators aggregate new tariff programs, count projected receipts over a decade, or conflate tariff revenue with broader customs-related charges to argue for much larger totals ^[3]. These broader aggregates can produce headline numbers that look more dramatic but mix actual collections with forecasts and policy proposals. The most reliable, auditable statistic for a given fiscal year remains the customs duties line in official receipts tables; treating forecasts or cumulative multi-year projections as the FY2023 total misrepresents the accounting treatment and can mislead comparisons with other revenue sources ^{[1] [3]}.

5. Relative size: tariffs remain a small share of total tax revenue

Even at $80.3 billion, customs and other import duties constitute a small percentage of overall federal tax revenue, on the order of a few percent, consistent with international metrics that show customs duties contributing roughly 2–3 percent of tax revenue in similar advanced economies ^[5]. This context matters for policy debates: tariffs can have outsized distributional or economic effects despite their modest role in revenue. Therefore, when policymakers or analysts argue about tariffs as a budgetary tool, the underlying accounting demonstrates that tariffs are a limited revenue source relative to income and payroll taxes ^[5].

6. Bottom line for readers and researchers seeking precision

For most purposes—budget analysis, historical comparison, and clear communication—the FY2023 customs duties figure of $80.3 billion is the correct and defensible value to use as “tariff revenue.” Use that number when referring to actual FY2023 collections, and consult the Treasury or official receipts tables for breakdowns, fiscal-year alignment, and revisions. When encountering larger or smaller headline numbers, check whether those figures reflect cumulative multi-year projections, program-specific tallies, or alternative definitions before treating them as the FY2023 total ^{[1] [2]}.