With tax season upon us, people around the country are scrambling to file their tax returns before April 17. For most, one word is enough to instill fear in their hearts and send a chill down their spine: audit. But here at Truth in Accounting, we fear other issues, like how our government accounts for spending taxpayer dollars. With that said, we decided to look at the latest federal financial statements to give you a better idea where your money goes.
Federal revenue last year hit $3.4 trillion, 80 percent of which came from individual income tax and tax withholdings. But revenues still fell far short of the $4.5 trillion in net costs of governments operation.
Four government agencies accounted for 72 percent of the net cost: Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Department of Defense and Department of Veteran Affairs. Another 6 percent, or $273 billion, came from interest on the federal debt, an increase from $240 billion in 2008 despite a historic decline in long-term interest rates since then.
In total, net outlays as a share of the nation’s gross domestic product was 20.5 percent, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
To give you a better idea of where the majority of your tax dollars are going, we’ve listed the Top 25 biggest government agencies based on the net cost of operations. Also included is whether the agency received a disclaimer of opinion, which means auditors were unable to form an opinion on the department’s finances as a result of lacking or missing financial information.
25. National Science Foundation
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Net cost: $7.1 billion
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Audit Opinion: Unmodified
24. Environmental Protection Agency
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Net Cost: $8.4 billion
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Audit Opinion: Unmodified
23. Railroad Retirement Board
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Net Cost: $9.2 billion
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Audit Opinion: n/a
22. Department of Commerce
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Net Cost: $ 9.6 billion
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Audit Opinion: Unmodified
21. U.S Agency for International Development
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Net Cost: $13.2 billion
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Audit Opinion: Unmodified
20. Department of the Interior
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Net Cost $17.5 billion
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Audit Opinion: Unmodified
19. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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Net Cost: $19.4 billion
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Audit Opinion: Unmodified
18. Federal Communications Commission
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Net Cost: $20.3 billion
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Audit Opinion: Unmodified
17. Department of State
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Net Cost: $26.8 billion
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Audit Opinion: Unmodified
16. Department of Justice
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Net Cost: $32.6 billion
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Audit Opinion: Unmodified
15. Defence Security Cooperation Agency
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Net Cost: $36.7 billion
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Audit Opinion: n/a
14. Department of Energy
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Net Cost $41.3 billion
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Audit Opinion: Unmodified
13. Department of Labor
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Net Cost: $43.5 billion
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Audit Opinion: Unmodified
12. Department of Education
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Net Cost: $53.8 billion
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Audit Opinion: Unmodified
11. Department of Homeland Security
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Net Cost: $64.5 billion
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Audit Opinion: Unmodified
10. Department of Housing and Urban development
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Net Cost: $69.2 billion*
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Audit Opinion: Disclaimer
9. Department of Transportation
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Net Cost: $78.7 Billion
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Audit Opinion: Unmodified
8. Department of Agriculture
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Net Cost $134.8 billion
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Audit Opinion: Unmodified
7. Department of the Treasury
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Net Cost: $141.6 billion
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Audit Opinion: Unmodified
6. Office of Personnel Management
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Net Cost: $170.3 billion
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Audit Opinion: Unmodified
5. Interest on Treasury Securities Held by the Public
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Net Cost: $296.3 billion
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Audit Opinion: None
4. Department of Veterans Affairs
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Net Cost: $479.7 billion
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Audit Opinion: Unmodified
3. Department of Defense
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Net Cost: $665.4 billion*
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Audit Opinion: Disclaimer
2. Social Security Administration
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Net Cost: $998.8 billion
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Audit Opinion: Unmodified
1. Department of Health and Human Services
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Net Cost: $1.1 trillion
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Audit Opinion: Unmodified
While these figures give you a rough idea of where the majority of federal tax revenue goes, they also can be understated. For example, the combined net cost of the Department of Defense and the Department of Veteran Affairs was more than $1.2 trillion, but agencies like the Department of Energy and NASA also spend significant amounts of “defense” money.