April tax collections beat the Healey administration’s expectation by more than $1 billion, driven by revenue from the surtax on annual income above $1 million and capital gains taxes, the Department of Revenue said.

Last month’s $6.83 billion in tax revenue was $511 million or 8.1% greater than what was collected in April 2024, and $1.1 billion or 19.5% more than the administration’s monthly benchmark.

With just two months left in fiscal 2025, DOR said tax receipts total approximately $36.5 billion — $2.65 billion or 7.8% more than actual collections by the same point in fiscal 2024 and $1.9 billion or 5.5% above the year-to-date benchmark, DOR said.

“The revenue overperformance in April is largely driven by Fair Share surtax and capital gains collections — categories that do not alleviate persistent pressures on the overall state budget tied to the escalating costs of providing state services,” said DOR and Administration and Finance Secretary Matthew Gorzkowicz .

The U.S. trade deficit soared to a record $140.5 billion in March as consumers and businesses alike tried to get ahead of President Donald Trump’s latest and most sweeping tariffs — with federal data showing an enormous stockpiling of pharmaceutical products.

The deficit — which measures the gap between the value of goods and services the U.S. sells abroad against what it buys — has roughly doubled over the last year. In March 2024, Commerce Department records show, that gap was just under $68.6 billion.

According to federal data released on Tuesday, U.S. exports for goods and services totaled about $278.5 billion in March, while imports climbed to nearly $419 billion. That’s up $500 million and $17.8 billion, respectively, from February trade.