# How much tax revenue is raised and spent in the US each year, and what on **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 14, 2009, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-tax-revenue-is-raised-and-spent-in-the-us-each-year-and-what-on/517531 "2009-11-14T05:40:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-tax-revenue-is-raised-and-spent-in-the-us-each-year-and-what-on/517531/1 "2009-11-14T05:40:02Z")
Finding how much federal tax revenue is raised and what it is spent on is easy. > **[2009 United States federal budget](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_United_States_federal_budget)** > > The United States federal budget for fiscal year 2009 began as a spending request submitted by President George W. Bush to the 110th Congress. The final resolution written and submitted by the 110th Congress to be forwarded to the President was approved by the House on June 5, 2008. > The government was initially funded through three temporary continuing resolutions. Final funding for the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Veterans Affairs was enacted on S... Estimated receipts for fiscal year 2009 are $2.7 trillion(+7.1%). $1.21 trillion - Individual income tax $949.4 billion - Social Security and other payroll taxes $339.2 billion - Corporate income tax $68.9 billion - Excise taxes $29.1 billion - Customs duties $26.3 billion - Estate and gift taxes $47.9 billion - Other Mandatory spending: $1.89 trillion (+6.2%) $644 billion - Social Security $408 billion - Medicare $224 billion - Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) $360 billion - Unemployment/Welfare/Other mandatory spending $260 billion - Interest on National Debt Discretionary spending: $1.21 trillion (+4.9%) $515.4 billion - United States Department of Defense $145.2 billion(2008\*) - Global War on Terror $70.4 billion - United States Department of Health and Human Services $45.4 billion - United States Department of Education $44.8 billion - United States Department of Veterans Affairs $38.5 billion - United States Department of Housing and Urban Development $38.3 billion - State and Other International Programs $37.6 billion - United States Department of Homeland Security $25.0 billion - United States Department of Energy $20.8 billion - United States Department of Agriculture $20.3 billion - United States Department of Justice $17.6 billion - National Aeronautics and Space Administration $12.5 billion - United States Department of the Treasury $11.5 billion - United States Department of Transportation $10.6 billion - United States Department of the Interior $10.5 billion - United States Department of Labor $8.4 billion - Social Security Administration $7.1 billion - United States Environmental Protection Agency $6.9 billion - National Science Foundation $6.3 billion - Judicial branch (United States federal courts) $4.7 billion - Legislative branch (United States Congress) $4.7 billion - United States Army Corps of Engineers $0.4 billion - Executive Office of the President $0.7 billion - Small Business Administration $7.2 billion - Other agencies $39.0 billion(2008\*) - Other Off-budget Discretionary Spending The financial cost of the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan are not part of the defense budget; they are appropriations. * * * However finding info on state or local governments is much harder. So I’m looking for how much tax revenue is raised by state and local governments (collectively in the US) and what it is spent on. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-tax-revenue-is-raised-and-spent-in-the-us-each-year-and-what-on/517531/2 "2009-11-15T05:46:34Z")
Try my old friend [the Statistical Abstract of the US](http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/state_local_govt_finances_employment/receipts_expenditures_investment.html). You will have to study the state tables carefully for proper interpretation. The Statistical Abstract not only gives a fantastic overview of US data, it also lists the sources of that data in each table, so that the reader can dig further.