Tax Day 2023: Where Your 2022 Tax Dollars Went

Tax Day this year is April 18, 2023. Americans will file their tax returns for all income received in the previous year, 2022.

Want to know what your taxes pay for, and who pays what?

• Get your personalized tax receipt for the past year.
• See an average tax receipt for your state.
• Don’t like your tax receipt? Make your own federal spending choices.

Some tax facts for 2023:

• The average taxpayer paid  $1,087 just for Pentagon contractors in 2022, representing 21 days of work. That’s nearly half the total contribution for the military, and it’s 4 times the amount the same taxpayer contributed to K-12 education, $270.
• The average taxpayer paid $74 for nuclear weapons, and just $43 for the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).
• The average taxpayer paid $70 for deportations and border control, versus just $19 for refugee assistance.
• The average taxpayer paid $20 for federal prisons, and just $11 for anti-homelessness programs.
• The average taxpayer paid $298 to the top 5 military contractors, and just $19 for mental health & substance abuse.
• The average taxpayer paid $106 to the top military contractor Lockheed Martin, and only $6 for renewable energy.

The main message? Our government is continuing to invest too much in the military, and in militarized law enforcement, and not nearly enough on prevention, people, and our communities.