How have U.S. tariff revenues changed year‑by‑year since 2018 and which administrations collected the most?
Executive summary
U.S. tariff revenues were modest and relatively stable through 2017–2018, rose after the 2018–2019 tariff actions, peaked in the early 2020s, and then surged again in 2025 amid a new round of broad tariff measures — making 2025 the single biggest year on record by multiple trackers (USAFacts; Richmond Fed; Tax Foundation) [1] [2] [3]. Determining which administration “collected the most” depends on whether one compares single fiscal years (2025 under the current administration) or cumulative collections since 2018 (which reflect revenue produced by tariff regimes spanning multiple administrations, with large contributions from the Trump-era trade actions) [4] [5].
1. Annual trajectory: steady low base, a 2018–19 jump, and a 2025 surge
From 1980 through 2018, customs duties generally hovered between roughly $27 billion and $47 billion annually; that long-run baseline began to shift after tariffs were raised in 2018 and 2019 (USAFacts) [1]. The Congressional Budget Office and other analysts tie the first major increase in customs receipts to the 2018–2019 tariff actions, which raised customs revenue as a share of GDP before partially fading over time (CBO) [5]. By FY2022 collections had climbed to a new peak — reported at $108.2 billion by one government-based aggregator — reflecting lingering effects of those earlier tariff hikes (USAFacts) [1]. After some variation in 2023 and 2024 (Statista and other trackers report 2023 around $80 billion and FY2024 about $77 billion), tariff revenues accelerated dramatically in 2025 as new, broader tariff measures and higher average effective tariff rates came into force [6] [1] [7].
2. 2025: an outsize year and conflicting tallies
Multiple independent trackers show 2025 as a watershed. The Richmond Fed counted roughly $287 billion in customs duties, taxes and fees on a calendar-year basis and noted an AETR (average effective tariff rate) near historic highs [2]. The Tax Foundation reported customs duties of $264 billion for calendar 2025 [3], while the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget put FY2025 total customs collections at $195 billion and warned large portions could be refunded if courts invalidate some tariff authorities [4]. PIIE and other monthly trackers reported large month-to-month increases in 2025 and noted $179 billion collected through September 2025 by one tracker [8]. The variation in these totals reflects differences in fiscal- vs. calendar-year accounting, inclusion of related fees and taxes, and whether collected amounts net out refunds or temporary exclusions [4] [8].
3. Which administration “collected the most”? How to read that question
If measuring a single fiscal or calendar year, 2025 stands out as the largest year of receipts in available reporting, meaning the current administration in office during 2025 presided over the biggest annual collections [2] [3] [4]. If the question is about policy origin or cumulative effect since 2018, the picture is blended: the initial big uptick traces to tariff actions taken in 2018–2019 (implemented under the Trump administration) that raised the baseline and were still generating revenue thereafter, while new policies in 2025 produced the largest single‑year haul [5] [2]. Several trackers explicitly caution that collections in 2025 reflect both prior and newly announced measures, so attributing all receipts to one administration misstates the mechanics of customs collection [8] [4].
4. Drivers, uncertainty, and the headline takeaways
The principal drivers of the recent revenue jump are higher applied tariff rates, expanded tariff coverage (including on China and other trading partners), and shifts in import volumes and sourcing — with average applied rates in tracker estimates rising into the mid-to-high teens in 2025 [7] [9]. Legal uncertainty — especially court rulings about the authority for some IEEPA-based tariffs — could force refunds and materially reduce net revenue projections, a point emphasized by CRFB and others [4]. Finally, analysts warn that headline collections do not equal durable fiscal gains: tariffs shrink import bases, can depress related income and payroll tax receipts, and may be transient as trade and sourcing patterns adjust (Tax Foundation; CBO; Richmond Fed) [3] [5] [2].