Key Takeaways
The primary sources of revenue for the U.S. government are individual and corporate taxes, and taxes that are dedicated to funding Social Security and Medicare. This revenue is used to fund a variety of goods, programs, and services to support the American public and pay interest incurred from borrowing. Revenue is typically measured by fiscal year (FY).
In addition to taxes, government revenue also comes from customs duties, leases of government-owned land and buildings, the sale of natural resources, various usage and licensing fees, and payments to federal agencies like the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Federal revenue is commonly compared to gross domestic product (GDP). This comparison provides a sense of the size of the federal government's earnings in relation to the total amount of the entire country's economic output. In fiscal year 0, federal revenue was equal to 0% of total gross domestic product (GDP), or economic activity, of the United States that year $ trillion.
Federal Revenue Overview
Where does federal revenue come from? If you lived or worked in the United States in 0, your tax contributions are likely part of the $ collected in revenue. The federal government also collects revenue from services like admission to national parks and customs duties on foreign imports and exports. The majority of this revenue is used to pay for government activities (employee salaries, infrastructure maintenance), as well as to pay for goods and services provided to United States citizens and businesses.
In FY 0, the federal government spent $. Since the government spent than it collected, the for 0 was $. Visit our Spending and Deficit pages for more information on these activities.
Sources of Federal Revenue
Most of the revenue the U.S. government collects comes from contributions from individual taxpayers, small businesses, and corporations through taxes. Additional sources of tax revenue consist of excise tax, estate tax, and other taxes and fees. So far in FY 0, individual income taxes have accounted for % of total revenue while Social Security and Medicare taxes made up another %.
Government revenue also comes from payments to federal agencies like the U.S. Department of the Interior. Have you visited a national park recently? Did you know your national park entry is included in government revenue? Other agencies generate revenue from leases, the sale of natural resources, and various usage and licensing fees.
Sources of Revenue for the U.S. Federal Government, FYTD 0
Revenue by Source Categories
Individual Income Taxes
Category
$
0 M
Revenue Amount
%
% of Total Revenue
Total Revenue: $
0 M
To explore this visual, hover over or tap on any category bubble to discover its data.
Visit the Monthly Treasury Statement (MTS) dataset to explore and download this data.
Last Updated:
March 28, 2024
In FY 0, the combined contribution of individual and corporate income taxes is $0 M, making up 0% of total revenue.
Why does the Federal Reserve send money to the federal government?
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Social Security and Medicare Taxes
Unlike personal income taxes, which support a variety of programs, these taxes are only used to fund Social Security and Medicare. These funds are collected from your paycheck, and in most cases, matched by your employer, and then divided into separate trust funds that support each of those programs.
Social Security has two trust fund accounts: the Old Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund (OASI) and the Disability Trust Fund (DI). The funds in these accounts are responsible for providing workers and their families with retirement, disability, and survivor's insurance benefits.
Medicare also has two accounts: the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund (HI), also known as Medicare Part A, and the Supplementary Medicare Insurance Trust Fund (SMI). These funds pay for hospital, home health, skilled nursing, and hospice care for the elderly and disabled.
From 1868 until 1913, 90% of all federal revenue came from taxes on liquor, beer, wine, and tobacco.
Source: IRS.gov
Federal Revenue Trends Over Time
The majority of federal revenue comes from individual and corporate income taxes as well as social insurance taxes (such as the Social Security taxes described above). As shown in the chart below, federal revenue increases during periods of higher earnings for individuals and corporations because more income is collected in taxes. Revenue also increases during periods with higher tax rates. Alternatively, when individuals or corporations make less money or the tax rate is lowered, the government earns less revenue. In , the U.S. government collected the highest total revenue in its history.
If the U.S. government increases tariffs on imports from a particular country or countries, it could increase revenues, depending on the level of trade the U.S. continues to do with those countries. However, if tariffs increase and U.S. consumers import fewer goods as a result of the higher prices, then revenue from customs duties could decrease overall.
Individual income tax has remained the top source of income for the U.S. government since 0.
The chart below shows how federal revenue has changed over time, broken out by the various source categories.
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Total revenue has from $ in 0 to $ in 0.
Federal Revenue Trends and the U.S. Economy
In fiscal year 2022, federal revenue was equal to of total gross domestic product (GDP), or economic activity, of the United States that year $.
Why do we compare federal revenue to gross domestic product? The comparison serves as a rough gauge of the size of the federal government's footprint related to size of the country's economic activity. Since federal taxes are based on a percentage of income for people and businesses, as people and businesses earn more the federal revenue from taxes increases.
Free GPS (Global Positioning System) service enjoyed throughout the world is funded by general U.S. tax revenues.
Source: GPS.gov
Data Sources & Methodologies
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