In most years, this accounts for more than half of the discretionary budget.

The pie chart shows federal spending in 2020 broken into these three categories.īy far, the biggest category of discretionary spending is spending on the Pentagon and military.

Interest payments on the national debt account for a much smaller amount than the other two categories. Together, mandatory and discretionary spending account for more than ninety percent of all federal spending, and pay for all of the government services and programs on which we rely. Treasury divides all federal spending into three groups: mandatory spending, discretionary spending and interest on debt.

So where does all that money go? Three Types of Federal Spending The extinction of Ice Age animals like the wooly mammoth and saber-toothed tiger was only about 13,000 years ago, or less than half a trillion seconds. In 2020, the total federal budget ran much higher, at $7 trillion, because of all of the steps the government took to address the COVID-19 pandemic.īecause few of us have any idea what a trillion really is, here’s one example: 1 trillion seconds is about 31,000 years. The total federal budget of the United States has recently run about $4 trillion or more each year. State and local revenue is updated when published by the US Census Bureau.Federal Spending: Where Does the Money Go Federal Budget 101 Typically, federal revenue for the fiscal year ending September 30 is first updated from the US Treasury data published in mid October each year, and then updated when the federal budget is published the following February. The most recent year for actual local government revenue is FY 2020. The most recent year for actual state revenue is FY 2021. The most recent year for actual federal revenue is FY 2022. MS Access database at a US Census Bureau site:įederal revenue prior to 1962 and state and local revenue prior to 1971 is obtained fromīicentennial Edition: Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970.įor a table of data sources see Government Spending Data: Sources. State and local revenue for individual states between 19 is obtained from an Statistical Abstract of the United States. Nationwide state and local revenue between 19 is obtained from State and local receiptsboth for the United States as a whole and for individual statesfor 1992 and after are derived from spending, revenue, and debt data in theĬensus of state and local government finances. More recent spending, including future years out to 2028, areįederal receipts for 1962 and after are based on federal data on receipts in the Records of recent revenue are more detailed than historicalĪll federal receipts prior to 2023, state revenue prior to 2022 and local revenue prior to 2021 are actual. Three categories: budgeted, estimated, and guesstimated. Government revenue data in includes historical revenue and also future revenue in 2011/03/change-to-guesstimated-state-and-local.html'Guesstimated' by projecting the latest change in reported revenue forward to future yearssource: ĭata Sources: For a discussion of the sources of the government revenue data used here read How Tables 2.1, 2.4, 2.5, 7.1State and Local: and Local Gov. Gross Public Debt32,692.9e0.01,246.1g2,195.4g36,134.4gLegend: b - estimated by US budget g - 'guesstimated' projection by e - estimated by Data Sources:GDP, GO: /search/label/usgdpGDP, GO SourcesFederal: Budget: Hist. 2011/03/change-to-guesstimated-state-and-local.html'Guesstimated' by projecting the latest change in reported revenue forward to future years GDP, GO: /search/label/usgdpGDP, GO Sourcesįederal: Budget: Hist. G - 'guesstimated' projection by Į - estimated by United States Federal, State and Local Government Revenue

Federal spending pie chart