Question of the Day: Where are the most federal tax dollars spent? a) Defense b) Education c) Health

Apr 16, 2018
Question of the Day, Taxes, Current Events, Research

Answer: Health


  • Did the answer surprise you? Why? 
  • Why do you think that health costs are such a large part of the federal budget? 
  • If you could prioritize spending among these three categories, how would you order them from most to least important? Explain. 


Behind the numbers (National Priorities Project):

Tax Day materials do not include corporate taxes or the individual payroll taxes that directly fund Social Security and Medicare. To read more about where federal revenues come from, visit Where the Money Comes FromOur Tax Day materials show how federal funds were spent during fiscal year 2017, the time period that most closely corresponds to the calendar year for which income taxes are due.

In order to do this analysis, we separate federal funds from trust funds. Trust funds, generated from sources such as payroll taxes, can only be used for specific programs like Social Security and Medicare. All other funds are federal funds, including revenue from your federal income taxes, and can be used for a wide variety of purposes.


Taxes on the mind? Check out NGPF's Taxes resource page which is chock-full of ideas to engage your students! 





About the Author

Tim Ranzetta
