FY2017 federal spending
In fiscal year 2017 the US federal government took in $3.31T and spent $3.98T, leaving a deficit of $666B financed by borrowing.
That is 20.6% of GDP in spending and 17.2% of GDP in revenue, or $12,248/person spent and $10,200/person collected for every one of the roughly 325 million people in the country. The deficit works out to $2,048/person (3.4% of GDP).
Where the money came from
Receipts by source, from the Treasury Monthly Treasury Statement. Borrowing covers the remaining $666B of FY2017 spending.
| Revenue source | Receipts | Share of receipts |
|---|---|---|
| Individual income tax Taxes on wages, salaries, investments. | $1.59T | 47.9% |
| Payroll taxes Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance. | $1.16T | 35.1% |
| Corporate income tax Tax on corporate profits. | $297B | 9.0% |
| Fed. Reserve & other Federal Reserve remittances, fees, fines, misc receipts. | $128B | 3.9% |
| Excise taxes Fuel, tobacco, alcohol, airline-ticket taxes. | $84B | 2.5% |
| Customs duties Tariffs on imported goods. | $35B | 1.0% |
| Estate & gift tax Tax on large inheritances and gifts. | $23B | 0.7% |
Where the money went
Outlays are cash paid out during the year; obligations are commitments made during the year. Agency names link to a fuller breakdown by federal account. More on the difference.
| Agency | Outlays | Obligations | Share of outlays |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health & Human Services | $1.11T | $1.65T | 27.8% |
| Social Security Admin. | $990B | $1.06T | 24.9% |
| Defense | $563B | $1.01T | 14.1% |
| Treasury | $541B | $946B | 13.6% |
| Veterans Affairs | $174B | $192B | 4.4% |
| Agriculture | $126B | $136B | 3.2% |
| Education | $111B | $140B | 2.8% |
| Fed. retirement (OPM) | $94B | $197B | 2.4% |
| Transportation | $79B | $91B | 2.0% |
| Housing & Urban Dev. | $55B | $78B | 1.4% |
| Homeland Security | $50B | $82B | 1.3% |
| Labor | $40B | $53B | 1.0% |
| State | $27B | $44B | 0.7% |
| Energy | $26B | $42B | 0.6% |
Notes
- Revenue → agency flows are pro-rata: federal money is fungible.
- Agency outlays scaled by 99.0% so that they sum to total net outlays (negative offsetting receipts).
Every figure on this page is in US dollars. Read the data documentation for the underlying JSON, the units, and the known gaps.