Federal Spending
Where Every Federal Dollar Goes
Tracking U.S. government outlays, spending by agency and category, the deficit, and the national debt. Analysis sourced from the Office of Management & Budget, the Congressional Budget Office, the U.S. Treasury, and USASpending.gov.
In fiscal year 2024 the federal government spent roughly $6.75 trillion — more than $20,000 for every person in the country. We map where that money goes, how fast the debt is growing, and what it costs to borrow.
Key spending figures
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Federal Deficit
$1.77T
Most recent fiscal year · FY ending 2025-09-30
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Total Outlays
$6.75T
FY2024 · OMB Budget
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Interest on Debt
$892B
FY2024 est. · OMB / CBO
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CBO Deficit Projection
$1.9T
FY2026 baseline · CBO
What the numbers show
- Federal outlays reached about $6.75 trillion in FY2024, led by Social Security, interest on the debt, and Medicare.
- Interest on the debt has climbed to roughly $892 billion a year — now rivaling defense as one of the largest single line items.
- The Congressional Budget Office projects a $1.9 trillion deficit for FY2026, with annual deficits roughly doubling over the following decade.
- The national debt crossed $39 trillion in March 2026, expanding at more than $6 billion per day.
FY2024 federal outlays by category
The eight largest spending categories accounted for nearly all of the $6.75 trillion in FY2024 outlays. Figures are from the OMB FY2024 Budget.
| Category | Outlays (USD billions) |
|---|---|
| Social Security | $1,462 |
| Interest on the Debt | $892 |
| Medicare | $869 |
| Defense (Discretionary) | $858 |
| Other Mandatory | $742 |
| Non-Defense Discretionary | $709 |
| Medicaid | $616 |
| Other | $552 |
| Total federal outlays | $6,750 |
Where do my taxes go?
Most federal tax dollars go to a handful of large programs: Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, national defense, and the growing interest payment on the national debt. The rest funds everything from veterans' benefits and food assistance to scientific research and the agencies that run the government. To trace the money department by department, see our federal spending by agency breakdown. For more interactive federal spending and debt charts, see GovSpending.org.
Explore federal spending topics
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Spending by agency
Where the $7 trillion goes department by department — from HHS and Social Security to the rising interest bill — using the Treasury's Statement of Net Cost and USASpending.gov.
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The deficit & national debt
Annual deficits, the $39 trillion national debt, and the pace of borrowing — tracked against CBO baselines and U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data.
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Live data dashboard
Interactive charts for the federal deficit, outlays as a share of GDP, and the national debt — refreshed from FRED and the U.S. Treasury.
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Data sources
Figures on this page are drawn directly from primary federal sources:
- Office of Management & Budget (OMB) — federal budget and outlay totals
- Congressional Budget Office (CBO) — deficit and budget projections
- U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data — national debt and Statement of Net Cost
- USASpending.gov — award-level federal spending
- FRED — Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis economic series
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