Where Does All the Money Go?

If you are like me, you know pretty much where your income comes from. Where does it go? That sometimes can be a little less transparent.

As I straightened up my office last night at the end of the tax busy season, I ran across a recent study published annually by The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget that explores government spending. It addresses the following question: In 2016, how was $100 of taxes collected spent?

The answer:

Health – including Medicare, Medicaid and other health programs – $26.26

Social Security – $23.61

Defense and Military Benefits – $19.82

Interest – $6.25

13 other categories – $24.06

Where does the money come from? The most recent year for which I could readily locate sources was the Federal fiscal year 2015. A study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said of taxes:

47% comes from individual income taxes

33% comes from payroll taxes

11% comes from corporate taxes

9% comes from all other taxes

The estate tax is part of “all other.” In 2015, fewer than two of every 1,000 estates owed any estate tax. The estate tax made up 0.6 percent of total federal receipts in 2015.

While not “revenue,” borrowings financed $438 billion of the $3.7 trillion Federal budget.