How Your Tax Dollars Are Spent in 10 Photos

Paying the Piper

• In 2012, the Internal Revenue Service processed more than 237 million tax filings which generated more than $2.5 trillion in collectable revenue and $373.4 billion in refunds.

• Since 1960, the amount of tax dollars collected by the IRS has nearly increased by a factor of 27.

• According to the National Taxpayers Union, individual taxpayers spent 3.8 billion hours complying with federal tax laws in 2009.

In other words, we know our taxes are burdensome, but do we really know where that taxable income ends up?

Source: PublicDomainImages, Pixabay.

How Your Tax Dollars Are Spent

• The good news is that thanks to a study by The National Priorities Project, a non-profit research organization, we do know where your federal income tax dollars go!

• Utilizing data from the Office of Management and Budget from 2008, The National Priorities Project allows us to break down how your tax dollars fund different aspects of the federal budget. IRS Building, Washington D.C., Source: Wikimedia Commons.

The Military

Source: DVIDSHUB, Flickr.

42.2% of all taxable income goes to the U.S. military.

• 28.7% of taxable income funds current wars and defense efforts.

• 10% goes to pay interest on debt from previous wars.

• The remaining 3.5% goes to pay benefits to military veterans.

Health Care Expenditures

Source: Images Money, Flickr.

22.1% of all taxable income goes to pay for health care expenditures.

Health care expenditures are made up of Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program costs.

• Medicare, which predominantly covers seniors, accounts for nearly two-thirds of all health care expenditures.

• Medicaid and CHIP make up the remainder, covering low-income individuals and families.

Interest on Non-Military Debt

Source: Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.

10.2% of all taxable income goes to pay for interest on non-military debt.

• U.S. national debt currently sits at nearly $17.4 trillion according to USDebtClock.

• Roughly 20% of all collected tax revenue simply goes to pay for interest on military and non-military debt.

Anti-Poverty Programs

Source: U.S. Navy, Wikimedia Commons.

8.7% of all taxable income goes to pay for anti-poverty programs.

This funding category includes:• Food stamps apportioned to low-

income individuals and families to allow them to purchase fresh groceries.

• Welfare given to low-income individuals and families to allow for non-food expenditures.

• Adoption and foster program assistance.

Education, Training, and Social Services

Source: Audio-luci-store.it, Flickr.

4.4% of all taxable income goes to pay for education, training, and social services.

This category is comprised of: • Funds supplied from the federal

government to states for educational assistance (pre-school through college).

• Student loans.• Employment and training

services designed to get unemployed and underemployed Americans back to work.

Government and Law Enforcement Expenses

U.S. Secret Service motorcade support, Source: Cliff, Flickr.

3.9% of all taxable income goes to pay for government and law enforcement. This category is comprised of: • Costs to run the U.S. judicial

system.• Federal employee retirement and

disability costs.• The costs associated with running

the Social Security program.• Money funneled to state and local

law enforcement agencies around the country, as well as Secret Service costs.

Housing and Community Development

Source: U.S. Navy, Wikimedia Commons.

3.3% of all taxable income goes to housing and community development.

This spending category is made up of:• Housing assistance provided to

low-income individuals and families.

• Regional development programs designed to improve and enhance select communities.

Energy, Science, and Environmental Programs

Source: NASA Goddard Photo and Video, Fotopedia.

2.6% of all taxable income goes toward energy, science, and environmental programs.

• This expenditure includes money apportioned to NASA, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of the Interior, which garner a lion’s share of these funds.

Agriculture, Commerce and Transportation

Corn fields, Source: Fishhawk, Flickr.

1.5% of all taxable income goes to pay for agriculture, commerce, and transportation expenses.

• These expenses are primarily comprised of subsidies paid to the agricultural sector as well as funds used to maintain federal roads and airports.

International Affairs

904 bags of rice supplied to Haiti, Source: U.S. Navy, Wikimedia Commons.

1% of all taxable income goes to pay for international affairs.

International affairs is comprised of:• Humanitarian assistance sent to

foreign countries.• Paying to conduct diplomatic

affairs overseas.• Contributions to overseas

financial assistance funds.

Note: international affairs spending is just 11% the size of the tax income apportioned to domestic anti-poverty programs.

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Is Uncle Sam About to Claim 40% of Your Hard-Earned Assets? Thanks to a 2013 law called the “American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA),” he can… and WILL… if you aren’t properly prepared.

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