How we calculate where your taxes go

We estimate the taxes a household pays to each government from published rates, then follow each dollar into that government’s own budget, line by line. Every figure names the official document it came from, with its year.

Federal

  1. Federal income tax uses the tax year 2026 brackets and standard deduction for your filing status.
  2. Social Security and Medicare tax are the employee shares of payroll tax on wages.
  3. Federal spending follows the government's own outlays by function, from OMB Historical Table 3.2 - FY2024 Outlays (from FY2025 President's Budget, March 2024).

State

  1. Each state's income and payroll taxes follow that state's own rates, deductions, and credits.
  2. State spending follows the state's enacted budget. Where income tax is paid into named funds first, each fund's own spending is shown in its place.

Local

  1. Local income tax goes to the government that levies it, at its published rate.
  2. Property tax uses the published tax rate where you live. Renters see the property tax built into rent.
  3. What you pay a local government follows that government's own published budget, line by line.
  4. When the data does not say how a tax is split between local governments, it stays one amount instead of a guessed split.

Sources by state

Each state guide lists its official tax rules and budgets, with their years.

What we leave out

  • Sales tax, by design.
  • Fees, fines, and charges for services, which are not taxes.

Sources & methods

Where these numbers come from

Educational estimates from official public data. Not tax advice.