Comparing U.S. Federal Spending with Revenue
In 2021, the U.S. government spent $6.8 trillion on various expenditures and government-aided programs. Where was this money spent, and how much was covered by taxpayers’ dollars?
This graphic by Truman Du shows a breakdown of U.S. federal spending in 2021, as well as a breakdown of where the money came from, using data from USAspending.gov.
Money Comes and Goes
In 2021, U.S. government revenue totaled more than $4 trillion. About half of it came from individual income taxes, while about 30% came from Social Security and Medicare taxes.
Here’s a full breakdown of revenue sources in 2021:
| U.S. Government Revenue Source | 2021 Amount ($B) |
|---|---|
| Individual income taxes | $2,044 |
| Social security and medicare taxes | $1,247 |
| Corporate income taxes | $372 |
| Miscellaneous revenue | $133 |
| Custom duties | $80 |
| Excise taxes | $75 |
| Unemployment insurance | $57 |
| Estate and gift taxes | $27 |
| Other retirement | $10 |
| Total | $4,045 |
Despite the trillions in revenue generated, like most years, U.S. federal spending was higher in 2021, which put the federal government in a budget deficit of $2.7 trillion.
This was the second highest deficit on record, down from a peak of $3.1 trillion in 2020 during the height of the global pandemic.
After income and Social Security spending, health was the third-largest expenditure in 2021. Here’s a look at the full breakdown, and where spending was allocated last year:
| U.S. Government Spending Category | 2021 Amount ($B) |
|---|---|
| Income security | $1,649 |
| Social security | $1,135 |
| Health | $797 |
| National defense | $755 |
| Medicare | $697 |
| Net interest | (Read more...) |
