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What is the Federal Government Revenue?

In FY 2023, federal government revenue was $4.44 trillion according to the Office of Management and Budget. Budgeted revenue for FY 2024 is $5.08 trillion.

Federal Revenue Analysis  

 

This page shows the current trends in US Federal revenue. There are also charts on US Federal revenue history.

Recent US Federal Revenue

Recent Federal Revenue

Chart R.01f: Recent Federal Revenue

Recent Federal Revenue as Pct GDP

Chart R.02f: Recent Federal Revenue as Pct GDP

Federal Revenue was increasing strongly, year on year, in the mid 2000s from $2.1 trillion to $2.6 trillion in 2007. But federal revenues cratered in the Great Recession, down to a little over $2 trillion in 2009. In the subsequent recovery federal revenues increased slowly in 2010 thru 2012, but has increased more strongly since 2013, flatlining at $3.2 trillion in 2015 and 2016. Federal revenue for 2023 was $4.44 trillion.

Viewed from a GDP perspective, federal revenue was increasing steadily as a percent of GDP from 2005 to reach 18 percent in 2007. In the Great Recession federal revenues plunged down to 14.6 percent GDP in 2009 and then remained at about 15 percent GDP through 2012, but then increased up to 17.8 percent of GDP in 2015. Federal revenue for 2023 was 16.1 percent GDP.

Revenue Analyses:

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US Federal Revenue Since 1900

Federal Revenue in 20th Century

Chart R.03f: Federal Revenue in 20th Century

Federal revenue began the 20th century at about 3 percent of GDP per year. It jerked above 13 percent as a result of World War I and then declined in the 1920s below 5 percent of GDP in the 1920s. Federal revenue started to increase steadily in the 1930s reaching 7 to 8 percent of GDP just before World War II.

Federal revenue exploded during World War II to nearly 24 percent of GDP, and then declined to about 15 percent in the late 1940s.

In the Korean War of the early 1950s federal revenue increased to 20 percent of GDP. From the mid-1950s to the early 1990s federal revenues oscillated at about 17 to 18 percent.

In the 1990s federal revenue increased steadily to about 20 percent of GDP It collapsed to 16 percent of GDP in the recession of 2000-01 and 15 percent of GDP in the Great Recession of 2007-09.

After the Great Recession federal revenue recovered almost to 18 percent of GDP.

US Federal Revenue since the Founding

Federal Revenue since the Founding

Chart R.04f: Federal Revenue since the Founding


Federal revenue in the first half of the 19th century varied typically between 2 and 3 percent of GDP except in wartime. In the 1840s, after the national debt had been pretty well paid off, revenues declined to 2 percent of GDP. In the Civil War, federal revenue doubled to 7 percent of GDP.

After the Civil War revenue gradually declined to about 2.5 percent of GDP at the outbreak of World War I. Federal revenue in World War I peaked at 7 percent of GDP and declined below 5 percent in the 1920s. Federal revenue reached 7 percent of GDP in the 1930s before rocketing to 24 percent of GDP at the end of World War II.

From the end of World War II to the mid 1990s federal revenue fluctuated between 17 and 18 percent of GDP, peaking at 20 percent of GDP in 2000. The Great Recession of 2007-09 caused a significant decline in revenue to 15 percent of GDP but revenue has since recovered to 18 percent of GDP.

Viewed in the long term, federal revenue seems to have remained roughly constant at 17 to 18 percent GDP since World War II.

CBO Forecast for US Federal Revenue

CBO Forecast for Federal Revenue

Chart R.05f: CBO Forecast for Federal Revenue

According to the latest forecast from the Congressional Budget Office, federal revenue will grow from 16.5 percent of GDP in 2019 to 19.5 percent of GDP by 2049.

Suggested Video: Taxes 101

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Revenue Data Sources

Revenue data is from official government sources.

Gross Domestic Product data comes from US Bureau of Economic Analysis and measuringworth.com.

Detailed table of revenue data sources here.

Federal revenue data begins in 1792.

State and local revenue data begins in 1820.

State and local revenue data for individual states begins in 1957.

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Data Sources for 2012_2029:

Sources for 2012:

GDP, GO: GDP, GO Sources
Federal: Fed. Budget: Hist. Tables 2.1, 2.4, 2.5, 7.1
State and Local: State and Local Gov. Finances

Sources for 2029:

GDP, GO: GDP, GO Sources
Federal: Fed. Budget: Hist. Tables 2.1, 2.4, 2.5, 7.1
State and Local: State and Local Gov. Finances
'Guesstimated' by projecting the latest change in reported revenue forward to future years

> data sources for other years
> data update schedule.

Blog

Federal Budget for FY25 Released

On March 11, 2024, we updated usgovernmentspending.com with the numbers from the Public Budget Database in the Budget of the United States Government for Fiscal Year 2025

Here is how headline budget estimates for the upcoming FY 2024 fiscal year have changed since the release of the FY 2024 budget a year ago in Winter 2023.

Federal Budget Changes for 2024
$ billionEstimate for 2024
in FY2024 Budget
Estimate for 2024
in FY2025 Budget
Change
Federal Outlays$6,371.8$6,940.9 +$569.1
Federal Receipts$4,802.5$5,081.6+$279.1
Federal Deficit$1,569.4$1,859.4+$290.0

You can see line item changes from budget to budget here. You can compare budget estimates with actuals here.

Account level spending estimates through FY 2029 come from the Outlays table in the Public Budget Database and were updated on usgovernmentspending.com on March 11, 2024.

Account level budget authority estimates through FY 2029 come from the Budget Authority table in the Public Budget Database and were updated on usgovernmentspending.com on March 11, 2024. 

Agency Debt Update for 2023
On March 11, 2024, usgovernmentspending.com updated its data for agency debt from the Federal Reserve Board database. Data is now available for the period 1945-2023. You can see our Agency Debt pag ...

US GDP for 2023 Updated
On January 19, 2024 usgovernmentspending.com updated its GDP series with the latest data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, ...

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