FY2021 federal spending
In fiscal year 2021 the US federal government took in $4.05T and spent $6.82T, leaving a deficit of $2.77T financed by borrowing.
That is 30.0% of GDP in spending and 17.8% of GDP in revenue, or $20,537/person spent and $12,187/person collected for every one of the roughly 332 million people in the country. The deficit works out to $8,350/person (12.2% of GDP).
Where the money came from
Receipts by source, from the Treasury Monthly Treasury Statement. Borrowing covers the remaining $2.77T of FY2021 spending.
| Revenue source | Receipts | Share of receipts |
|---|---|---|
| Individual income tax Taxes on wages, salaries, investments. | $2.04T | 50.5% |
| Payroll taxes Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance. | $1.31T | 32.5% |
| Corporate income tax Tax on corporate profits. | $372B | 9.2% |
| Fed. Reserve & other Federal Reserve remittances, fees, fines, misc receipts. | $133B | 3.3% |
| Customs duties Tariffs on imported goods. | $80B | 2.0% |
| Excise taxes Fuel, tobacco, alcohol, airline-ticket taxes. | $75B | 1.9% |
| Estate & gift tax Tax on large inheritances and gifts. | $27B | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Treasury | $1.63T | $2.19T | 24.0% |
| Health & Human Services | $1.47T | $2.36T | 21.5% |
| Social Security Admin. | $1.19T | $1.25T | 17.5% |
| Defense | $718B | $1.15T | 10.5% |
| Labor | $405B | $649B | 5.9% |
| All other agencies | $268B | $380B | 3.9% |
| Education | $260B | $457B | 3.8% |
| Agriculture | $235B | $260B | 3.4% |
| Veterans Affairs | $234B | $257B | 3.4% |
| Fed. retirement (OPM) | $109B | $222B | 1.6% |
| Transportation | $105B | $165B | 1.5% |
| Homeland Security | $91B | $142B | 1.3% |
| State | $36B | $51B | 0.5% |
| Energy | $34B | $53B | 0.5% |
| Housing & Urban Dev. | $32B | $104B | 0.5% |
Notes
- Revenue → agency flows are pro-rata: federal money is fungible.
Every figure on this page is in US dollars. Read the data documentation for the underlying JSON, the units, and the known gaps.