FY2020 federal spending
In fiscal year 2020 the US federal government took in $3.42T and spent $6.55T, leaving a deficit of $3.13T financed by borrowing.
That is 31.1% of GDP in spending and 16.2% of GDP in revenue, or $19,794/person spent and $10,332/person collected for every one of the roughly 331 million people in the country. The deficit works out to $9,462/person (14.8% of GDP).
Where the money came from
Receipts by source, from the Treasury Monthly Treasury Statement. Borrowing covers the remaining $3.13T of FY2020 spending.
| Revenue source | Receipts | Share of receipts |
|---|---|---|
| Individual income tax Taxes on wages, salaries, investments. | $1.61T | 47.0% |
| Payroll taxes Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance. | $1.31T | 38.3% |
| Corporate income tax Tax on corporate profits. | $212B | 6.2% |
| Fed. Reserve & other Federal Reserve remittances, fees, fines, misc receipts. | $117B | 3.4% |
| Excise taxes Fuel, tobacco, alcohol, airline-ticket taxes. | $87B | 2.5% |
| Customs duties Tariffs on imported goods. | $69B | 2.0% |
| Estate & gift tax Tax on large inheritances and gifts. | $18B | 0.5% |
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 | $1.50T | $2.20T | 23.0% |
| Social Security Admin. | $1.15T | $1.22T | 17.6% |
| Treasury | $1.15T | $1.57T | 17.6% |
| Defense | $690B | $1.13T | 10.5% |
| All other agencies | $571B | $781B | 8.7% |
| Labor | $478B | $601B | 7.3% |
| Veterans Affairs | $218B | $245B | 3.3% |
| Education | $204B | $243B | 3.1% |
| Agriculture | $184B | $291B | 2.8% |
| Fed. retirement (OPM) | $106B | $214B | 1.6% |
| Transportation | $100B | $147B | 1.5% |
| Homeland Security | $92B | $160B | 1.4% |
| Housing & Urban Dev. | $33B | $69B | 0.5% |
| State | $33B | $49B | 0.5% |
| Energy | $32B | $49B | 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.