The Treasury General Account Is the federal government's checking account

All federal expenditures are funded with checks drafted on the Treasury General Account at the Federal Reserve.  All revenue collected by the Treasury is deposited into this same account.

The Treasury General Account Balance refers to amounts deposited (tax and Treasury security revenue) minus amounts spent.  This balance is maintained so that around $300 billion more is deposited than spent every day.  The amount deposited into the TGA is kept so large to control inflation by:

    1. The federal government always destroys more money than it generates regardless of whether taxes cover the spending.

    2. The federal government also destroys the extra liquidity generated when banks generate new money via the FED's discount window, OMO, or interest on reserves operations.