Your Federal Tax Receipt

03What Each Line Pays For

Net outlays by budget function, fiscal 2026 (October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026). Source: US Treasury, Monthly Treasury Statement, Table 9. Two lines are negative because collections that are not taxes, such as loan repayments, royalties and agencies' payments into federal retirement funds, are subtracted from spending.

For the full breakdown by department and program, see Where Your Tax Dollars Go. For what the Treasury paid out yesterday, see the Daily Federal Spending Tracker, and to try closing the gap between spending and taxes yourself, Balance the Budget. Canadian readers: Where Your Canadian Tax Dollars Go.

04How We Calculate

• The receipt multiplies your federal income tax by each budget function's share of net federal outlays in fiscal 2026. Because tax money is pooled, this shows your proportional share, not where any particular dollar went. It spreads your income tax across all federal spending, so Social Security and Medicare appear on it even though dedicated payroll taxes pay most of Social Security's cost and Medicare's hospital insurance.
• The estimate, if you choose it, takes your income, subtracts the 2026 standard deduction for your filing status and applies the 2026 federal brackets. It leaves out credits (such as the child tax credit), itemized deductions, capital gains rates and other income adjustments, so your actual tax may be lower or higher. Use the number from your return if you have it.
• Payroll taxes for employees are 6.2% for Social Security on wages up to $184,500 per person and 1.45% for Medicare on all wages, plus 0.9% on wages over $200,000 ($250,000 of combined wages for joint filers). Employers pay a matching 6.2% and 1.45%; there is no employer share of the extra 0.9%. The calculator assumes all Medicare wages are also subject to Social Security tax.
• Self-employment tax is 15.3% (12.4% Social Security, 2.9% Medicare) of 92.35% of net profit, with the Social Security part capped at the same per-person limit. The extra 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax (figured separately, on Form 8959) applies to the same 92.35% base above the threshold and is included in the total. If 92.35% of a person's profit is under $400, no self-employment tax is due for that person. Both spouses use the same earnings type; the calculator does not model a household with one employee and one self-employed spouse, someone who also has wages from a job, church employee income, the optional methods, or the income tax deduction for half of self-employment tax.
• Borrowing: in fiscal 2026 the government spent $7.40 trillion and took in $5.40 trillion, so it spent about $1.37 for every $1.00 it collected. The receipt applies that government-wide ratio to your tax to show equivalent spending including borrowing. It is not your personal share of the federal debt.

05Frequently Asked Questions

06Sources

• US Treasury, Monthly Treasury Statement, September 2026 (Table 9: receipts and outlays by source and function)
• IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (2026 tax brackets and standard deduction)
• Social Security Administration, contribution and benefit base
• Congressional Budget Office, budget and deficit analysis
• Exact data used: Monthly Treasury Statement Table 9, record date September 30, 2026 (Fiscal Data API, JSON)

Spending figures are fiscal 2026 totals through September 30, 2026, last checked October 28, 2026. Tax rates are for 2026. This calculator gives estimates for information only; it is not tax advice.