NEW: In 2024, the average American’s income taxes funded $3,707 for weapons and war – or the price of 628 dozen eggs
FROM THE NATIONAL PRIORITIES PROJECT AT THE INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press contacts:
Olivia Alperstein, olivia@ips-dc.org
Lindsay Koshgarian, lindsay@ips-dc.org
Washington, D.C. – On April 9, ahead of Tax Day on April 15, the National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies released its latest annual analysis, the 2025 Tax Day Receipt, highlighting exactly where Americans’ 2024 income taxes went and what those numbers say about our national spending priorities.
While most Americans will know whether they get a tax refund, many have no idea where their income tax dollars go. NPP’s new analysis spotlights how much of taxpayers’ money went towards militarism and its support systems – the Pentagon, war and weaponry, and mass deportations and border enforcement – compared to how many tax dollars go toward funding vital programs and services that address American communities’ needs. This analysis comes amid news that the president will be seeking a $1 trillion military budget.
Meanwhile, millions of average Americans are struggling to make ends meet. In February 2025, the average price for a dozen eggs was $5.90. The administration has endorsed cuts to healthcare, food and education for millions of Americans. NPP’s new analysis highlights how much the average American might have paid for weapons and war, mass deportations, and programs that are on the Trump-Musk chopping block — and which programs cost less than a dozen eggs.
Overall, in 2024, the average taxpayer contributed $3,707 per person for weapons and war – the equivalent of the price of 628 dozen eggs – including war and the Pentagon, weapons contractors, and aid to foreign militaries. The average taxpayer subsidized $1,430 toward all Pentagon contractors (242 dozen eggs), and nearly $6 for the Pentagon contracts with SpaceX, Elon Musk’s company (one dozen eggs).
Key Findings:
In 2024, the average taxpayer paid:
- $3,707 for weapons and war (628 dozen eggs), including $1,430 toward all Pentagon contractors (242 dozen eggs), and nearly $6 for the Pentagon contracts with SpaceX, Elon Musk’s company (one dozen eggs).
- $98 for deportations, immigrant detentions and border militarization (16 dozen eggs), vs. just $26 for refugee assistance (four dozen eggs), which the current administration has frozen.
- $149 for the National Institutes of Health, home of lifesaving medical and cancer research (25 dozen eggs); $39 for USAID, the international aid program that provides lifesaving food and medical help to millions (6 dozen eggs); and one penny for the Interagency Council on Homelessness that coordinates across agencies to end homelessness (no eggs). Each of these programs face elimination or severe cuts by President Trump and Elon Musk.
“Millions of ordinary American families are struggling to make ends meet and worried about their bottom line – and they deserve to know where their hard-earned tax dollars are going,” said Lindsay Koshgarian, Program Director for the National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies. “Our annual Tax Day Receipt exposes how the government prioritizes spending our tax dollars. At the same time that the current administration and Congress are threatening the healthcare, food and security of millions of struggling American families, the government is shelling out hundreds of billions for militarism and its support systems. It’s stunning that our tax dollars paid for $3,707 per person for weapons and war in 2024.”
View a comprehensive breakdown of key findings and the full analysis: https://ips-dc.org/2025-tax-day-receipt
View Tax Day Receipts for previous years here.
Press contacts:
Olivia Alperstein, olivia@ips-dc.org
Lindsay Koshgarian, lindsay@ips-dc.org
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About the National Priorities Project
The National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies is a leading nonpartisan research program that produces analyses comparing federal budget and national spending priorities with alternative opportunities to reinvest funding for militarism in safety and shared prosperity for all. The National Priorities Project is the only nonprofit, non-partisan federal budget research program in the nation with the mission to make the federal budget accessible to the American public.
