How much tariff revenue does the United States collect annually (last 5 years)?

1. Bold claims on revenue spikes — what sources say and how they diverge

Multiple sources assert a pronounced surge in customs duties in 2025, with one reporting $195 billion collected in FY2025 and framing this as roughly a 150% increase over FY2024’s $77 billion ^[1]. Other contemporaneous reporting documents record-pace gross collections topping $100 billion for the first time in a fiscal year and gross nine-month tallies of about $113.3 billion ^[3]. A separate narrative describes tariff receipts since January 2025 reaching $122 billion by mid‑year, emphasizing that those mid‑year totals represent only a portion of annual flows and are sensitive to timing of payments and exemptions ^[4]. These differing snapshots reflect variation in measurement windows (full fiscal year vs. calendar or partial-year totals) and the difference between gross and net accounting of customs duties.

2. Historical five‑year view — numbers you can compare

Putting recent spikes in context, one compilation shows a trajectory from pre‑2018 levels (for example $41 billion in 2018) through gradual increases and then sharp rises: $71 billion in 2019, $108 billion in 2022, and the jump to $195 billion in 2025 ^[2]. Another authoritative source supplies downloadable annual tariff tables spanning 1997–2025, enabling precise year‑by‑year tallies for 2021–2025 if analysts extract the datasets ^[5]. A Federal Reserve Economic Data series reports a seasonally adjusted annual rate of ~$267.7 billion for customs duties as of Q2 2025, a different statistical presentation that signals how seasonal adjustment and annualization can amplify perceived levels compared with raw fiscal‑year totals ^[6]. These multiple formats explain why secondary summaries can report disparate headline totals for the same period.

3. Why figures differ — timing, gross vs. net, legal risks and classification

The reported variance stems from at least three technical reasons: first, timing mismatches between calendar‑year, fiscal‑year, and partial‑year tallies create divergent snapshots ^{[4] [3]}. Second, sources distinguish gross customs receipts from net collections after refunds, credits, and other adjustments; some reports cite gross receipts above $100 billion while net accounting is slightly lower ^[3]. Third, the legal environment creates acute uncertainty: litigation over tariff authority could force refunds on tens of billions, and one source specifically warns that a court ruling against the current tariff structure might require roughly $90 billion in reimbursements and materially reduce future flows ^[1]. These technical and legal factors mean reported “revenue” is not a fixed, uncontested figure.

4. Multiple perspectives — fiscal tool, protection, or political talking point?

Analysts and agencies frame the surge differently: Treasury and some media emphasize the receipts as a growing non‑income revenue stream, noting tariffs could become the fourth‑largest revenue source and represent around 2–5 percent of federal revenue in 2025 depending on the metric ^{[3] [4]}. Independent think tanks and reporting stress that tariffs are also protectionist levers with distributional effects and that higher headline revenue masks delayed passthrough to consumers and business inventory timing ^{[7] [4]}. Political stakeholders use the numbers selectively: proponents tout expanded receipts and leverage, while opponents underscore the risk of retaliation, economic disruption, and reversible court outcomes ^{[1] [2]}. Each framing carries a clear agenda—either fiscal benefit or economic and legal caution—which readers should weigh against the raw data.

5. Bottom line for the last five years and what to watch next

For quick reference, the clearest cross‑source picture is of modest tariff receipts through 2019, rising through 2022, and a substantial jump into 2024–2025 with $77 billion in FY2024 and about $195 billion in FY2025 commonly cited; mid‑2025 partial tallies range from $113 billion to $122 billion depending on the window and accounting method ^{[1] [3] [4] [2]}. Watch three developments that will firm up the final five‑year accounting: the Supreme Court and litigation outcomes that may trigger large refunds, the Treasury and Census Bureau’s finalized annual customs duty tables, and quarterly BEA/FRED revisions that reconcile seasonally adjusted annual rates with fiscal totals ^{[1] [6] [5]}. These items will determine whether 2025 remains an outlier or signals a durable re‑ranking of tariff revenue in the federal receipts mix.