How Your Tax Dollars Are Spent

Do you know where your federal income-tax dollars go? The National Priorities Project, a non-profit organization, used data from the Office of Management and Budget to explain how each dollar is spent when it gets into Uncle Sam's hands. (Source: National Priorities Project: Where Do Your Tax Dollars Go 2008 Report.)

The biggest chunk of your money -- 42.2 cents of every income-tax dollar -- goes to fund the military. Over half of it, or 28.7 cents, goes to pay for the current war and military, 10 cents goes to interest payments on past and present military debt and 3.5 cents is allocated for Veterans' benefits.

The second largest amount is spent on health care initiatives, including Medicare.

About ten cents of every federal tax dollar is spent on interest for non-military related national debt.

These funds go to a variety of programs to help the underprivileged. They include food assistance, supplemental income for those with low incomes and assistance for foster care and adoption programs.

These funds go towards paying for elementary, secondary and higher education. Other beneficiaries include employment training centers

This area covers a variety of programs, including the cost of running the justice system, the cost of running the Social Security program and federal employee retirement and disability.

This money is spent on housing assistance and community development programs

Spending in this area goes to environmental programs, energy exploration and any programs that deal with general science, technology and space.

One-and-a-half cents of every federal income tax dollar is going towards agriculture and transportation spending.

The smallest amount of your tax dollars goes to foreign affairs, including foreign humanitarian assistance, conduct of foreign affairs and international financial programs.

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