I make
annually
How much of your tax money goes to each category of federal spending?
Every year, your hard-earned dough gets shuffled to taxes. If you're like most
people in the US, you know
taxes pay for...something, something, roads, something, something, military. But given
how much money you'll pay in federal taxes in your life (about $340K for
the average person), it feels
like you should have even a mildly better understanding of where your money goes.
The purpose of this little project was an attempt to answer the simple question: where the hell does my tax money go?
Disclaimers and Stuff: So first of all, I'm required to say this isn't meant to be official tax advice. Who required me to do that? No one, officially, but it seems like that's what you have to say whenever you use the T-word-that-shall-not-be-named anywhere. So there you go. There could be mistakes in this information, though I made every effort to double-check and stuff. But like, don't sue me. That would be uncool.
On a more technical note: I completely recognize there are limitations in the calculations. For one, I compute every value based on the assumption that you are a single individual in the US. Tax brackets change depending on your marital status, etc. In addition, the calculations were made using the reported spending from the Congressional Budget Office for the year 2020 using their July 2021 report.
Oh also, I didn't include state taxes which are a whole separate, but definitely significant, can-of-worms. For example in California, where I live, the state gobbles up to an extra 12% of your money to pay for all kinds of other random stuff. So the full tax picture is more complicated. If you're interested in learning more, check out the cbo.gov site.
The purpose of this little project was an attempt to answer the simple question: where the hell does my tax money go?
Disclaimers and Stuff: So first of all, I'm required to say this isn't meant to be official tax advice. Who required me to do that? No one, officially, but it seems like that's what you have to say whenever you use the T-word-that-shall-not-be-named anywhere. So there you go. There could be mistakes in this information, though I made every effort to double-check and stuff. But like, don't sue me. That would be uncool.
On a more technical note: I completely recognize there are limitations in the calculations. For one, I compute every value based on the assumption that you are a single individual in the US. Tax brackets change depending on your marital status, etc. In addition, the calculations were made using the reported spending from the Congressional Budget Office for the year 2020 using their July 2021 report.
Oh also, I didn't include state taxes which are a whole separate, but definitely significant, can-of-worms. For example in California, where I live, the state gobbles up to an extra 12% of your money to pay for all kinds of other random stuff. So the full tax picture is more complicated. If you're interested in learning more, check out the cbo.gov site.