whatyoupaidfor.com  ·  Research & Exploration

Go deeper.
Every number has a source.

The calculator shows you the result. This page shows you how to find any number yourself — using the same free government databases the calculator is built on.

Explore

Pick a section.
Go as deep as you want.

This page is a research companion to the calculator. Start anywhere — each section stands on its own.

01 · SOURCE LIBRARY
Where the numbers come from
Every figure on this site traces back to a primary government database. This section is a plain-language guide to all six of them.
  • USASpending.gov — program-level enacted budgets
  • Treasury MTS — the $2.75T income tax denominator
  • CBO, OMB, IRS, CRS — when to use each
  • Quick-reference table: which source for which question
Explore sources →
02 · TRY IT YOURSELF
The formula.
Your numbers.
A 5-step guide to finding any program's budget on USASpending, plus a calculator that runs the share formula on any number you enter.
  • Step-by-step: finding a program in Agency Explorer
  • Mini calculator — plug in any budget in billions
  • Results broken down annually, monthly, and daily
Try the formula →
03 · IN THE NEWS
What's in the news.
What it means for you.
When a federal program makes headlines, here's how to translate the big number into your personal share — in about 60 seconds.
  • How to apply the formula to any news figure
  • Worked example updated with a current story
  • Notes on one-time vs. annual spending
See the news section →
04 · RESEARCH WITH AI
Use AI to go deeper.
AI tools can speed up budget research — but they make specific, well-documented mistakes. This section covers which tool to use and where each one goes wrong.
  • Claude, Perplexity, ChatGPT — best use for each
  • Copy-paste prompt library (beginner to advanced)
  • Four documented AI failure modes to watch for
Research with AI →
01 Source Library

Where the numbers come from

Every figure on this site is drawn from a primary government source — no aggregators, no estimates. Here's a plain-language guide to the six databases used in the calculator, what each one contains, and how to navigate it yourself.

01
USASpending.gov
Program-level enacted spending for every federal agency — FY2008 to present
usaspending.gov ↗ ›
What's in it
Program-level enacted spending for every federal agency, searchable by agency, program name, or recipient. Covers FY2008 to present. This is where the individual program budgets in the calculator come from.
Best for
  • Finding a specific program's enacted budget
  • Verifying spending figures against enacted appropriations
  • Seeing who received federal contract or grant money
Watch out for
⚠The interface can be confusing — the same program may appear under different names or agency structures depending on the fiscal year. When in doubt, search by agency first, then drill down to the program.
02
U.S. Treasury — Monthly Treasury Statement (MTS)
The source for the $2.75T denominator — total individual income tax collected in FY2026
fiscaldata.treasury.gov ↗ ›
What's in it
Total federal revenue and spending broken down by month and fiscal year. The MTS is the source for the $2.75 trillion denominator used in every calculation on this site — the total individual income tax collected in FY2026 (CBO Feb 2026 projection; update when Treasury publishes FY2026 actuals, expected Dec 2026).
Best for
  • Confirming the total individual income tax figure for any fiscal year
  • Tracking year-over-year federal revenue trends
  • Finding debt interest totals (Table 5)
Watch out for
⚠Published monthly, but the final annual figure for a fiscal year isn't available until October–November after it closes. Don't use mid-year MTS figures as annual totals.
03
Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
Authoritative 10-year budget projections and historical spending data — nonpartisan
cbo.gov ↗ ›
What's in it
Authoritative 10-year budget projections, historical spending data, and deep-dive analysis reports on specific programs and policies. Nonpartisan. The debt interest trajectory charts in Episode 02 of this series draw on CBO historical data.
Best for
  • Historical spending trends going back 10–15 years
  • Future debt interest projections
  • Comparing budget categories across fiscal years
Watch out for
⚠CBO projects — it doesn't enact. Always distinguish CBO projections from final Treasury-recorded actuals. When you need the real number for a completed fiscal year, cross-check with MTS or USASpending.
04
OMB Analytical Perspectives
The most granular program-by-program budget detail available — published each February
whitehouse.gov/omb ↗ ›
What's in it
The most granular program-by-program budget detail available, published each February alongside the President's Budget. Includes sub-agency breakdowns, IT spending, and cross-cutting function analysis not found in other databases.
Best for
  • Sub-program and sub-agency budget breakdowns
  • Federal IT spending by agency
  • Cross-cutting function analysis (e.g. R&D across all agencies)
Watch out for
⚠This reflects the President's proposed budget, not what Congress actually enacted. It's useful for detail and sub-program structure, but always verify final appropriations against USASpending or MTS.
05
IRS — Revenue Procedures & Statistics of Income
Official tax bracket thresholds, standard deduction amounts, and aggregate filer statistics
irs.gov/statistics ↗ ›
What's in it
Official tax bracket thresholds, standard deduction amounts, and inflation adjustments for each tax year. Also includes aggregate Statistics of Income (SOI) data — how many returns were filed, at what income levels, with what total tax owed.
Best for
  • Confirming income tax bracket thresholds by year
  • Standard deduction amounts for any tax year
  • Verifying the sample tax calculations in this calculator
Watch out for
⚠Statistics of Income data typically lags 12–18 months behind the current tax year. Use Revenue Procedures (published each fall) for current-year bracket and deduction figures — SOI is better for aggregate historical data.
06
CRS Reports (Congressional Research Service)
Nonpartisan policy explainers for every federal program, freely available to the public
crsreports.congress.gov ↗ ›
What's in it
Nonpartisan research reports written by policy experts for members of Congress — freely available to the public. Covers virtually every federal program: what it does, how it's funded, its history, and pending legislative changes.
Best for
  • Plain-language explainers on what a program actually does
  • Understanding a program's funding structure before working with numbers
  • Legislative history and recent changes to a program
Watch out for
⚠Not all CRS reports are updated annually. Check the publication date before citing figures — reports on actively legislated programs are updated frequently, but older reports may reference superseded funding levels.
Quick reference — which source for what
If you're looking for… Best source Where to go
A discretionary program's FY2026 budget USASpending — Agency Explorer usaspending.gov/explorer/agency
Total income tax collected FY2026 Treasury MTS — Table 4 fiscaldata.treasury.gov → CBO Feb 2026 baseline (update when Sep 2026 MTS available)
Debt interest total Treasury MTS — Table 5 Same September MTS PDF → Table 5
Historical trend (10+ years) CBO Historical Budget Data cbo.gov → search "historical budget data"
Sub-program breakdown OMB Analytical Perspectives whitehouse.gov/omb/budget → Analytical Perspectives PDF
Tax brackets & standard deductions IRS Revenue Procedures irs.gov → search "Revenue Procedure [year]-[number]"
What a program does & how it's funded CRS Reports crsreports.congress.gov → search by topic or agency
📌
Methodology note: All figures on this site use final Treasury-recorded actuals, not enacted estimates — except where noted. The calculator uses a $2.75 trillion income tax denominator — the CBO February 2026 projection for FY2026. This will be updated when Treasury publishes FY2026 actuals (expected December 2026). See full methodology →
02 Try It Yourself

The formula.
Your numbers.

Use the step-by-step guide to find any program's budget on USASpending, then plug it into the calculator below. Every number you find is verifiable from primary sources.

Step-by-step
Find any budget in 5 steps
1
Go to usaspending.gov/explorer/agency — the Agency Explorer tool.
2
Set the fiscal year to FY2026 using the dropdown in the top right. Do this before reading any numbers — the default may not be the year you want.
3
Find your agency in the list and click on it. For sub-agencies (e.g. Bureau of Prisons within DOJ), click through to the sub-agency level.
4
At the top of the Agency Profile, find "Total Budgetary Resources." That's your number. Note it in billions.
5
Enter the budget (in billions) and your income into the calculator to the right. Your personal share appears instantly.
Plug in any number
What's your share?
Program budget (in billions)
$ B
Your gross income
$
Filing status
Formula
(Budget ÷ $2.66T) × Tax Bill = Your Share
Income tax only · FY2026 · Line 24 of Form 1040
Your annual share
—
per year · FY2026 · income tax only
—
/ month
—
/ day
—
of tax bill

Tax bill estimated from 2026 brackets & standard deduction ($15,000 single / $30,000 married). For your exact number, use Line 24 of your Form 1040 in the main calculator.

03 In The News

What's in the news.
What it means for you.

Every week a federal program makes headlines. Here's how to find your personal share of any figure you hear about — in about 60 seconds.

How to use this page with the news

"Every week, a program in the federal budget makes headlines. Here's how to find your share of it in about 60 seconds."

When you read a budget figure in the news, go to usaspending.gov to verify the enacted total. Then enter it in the calculator above. The formula works on any federal program — anything funded by individual income taxes.

Note: supplemental appropriations, emergency spending, and multi-year infrastructure funds are one-time — they may not be in the base annual budget. Check whether the figure you're seeing is annual or one-time before running the formula.

↗
In the news · EPA / Defense
White House proposes cutting EPA funding by 50% while military budget jumps to $1.5 trillion
CNN Politics · April 3, 2026
Worked example · Updated April 2026
EPA — Environmental Protection Agency
FY2026 Budget
$8.8B
Income Tax Total
$2.75T
Share of total
0.32%
$40K earner pays
$8.84 / yr
That's per month
$0.74
Source: FY2026 enacted appropriations · CBO Feb 2026 baseline · IRS 2026 brackets
Formula: ($8.8B ÷ $2.75T) × $2,762 = $8.84
🔄
The worked example above is updated manually when a relevant program is in the news. The framing stays constant — only the program, budget figure, and per-share result change. To suggest a program for the next update, mention it in the comments on any Instagram post.
04 Research With AI

Use AI to go deeper.

AI tools can speed up budget research significantly — but only if you know which tool to use for which task, and where they tend to go wrong. This section documents both.

Tool 01 — Claude
Synthesizing and explaining complex budget concepts
Best for: understanding methodology, checking your logic, drafting source notes, explaining the difference between mandatory and discretionary spending.
⚠ Don't ask Claude to recall specific dollar figures from memory — verify all numbers against primary sources before using them.
Tool 02 — Perplexity AI
Finding current source URLs and locating CRS reports
Best for: locating specific reports, finding the right USASpending page for a program, getting current links to primary sources.
⚠ Watch for conflation of proposed and enacted figures. Always follow the link and verify the source directly.
Tool 03 — ChatGPT + Code Interpreter
Analyzing spreadsheet data and running calculations
Best for: uploading a CSV export from USASpending and asking it to calculate shares, generate charts, or flag year-over-year changes.
⚠ Upload your source data first — never ask it to recall budget figures from memory. It will confidently produce wrong numbers.
Copy-paste prompt library
Beginner Find a program budget and calculate your share
›
I'm researching the [PROGRAM NAME] budget for FY2026. I'll provide the USASpending.gov data below. Please help me identify: (1) the total enacted budget, (2) how it breaks down by sub-program if available, and (3) whether this figure represents discretionary, mandatory, or mixed spending. Then, using this methodology: (Program Budget ÷ $2.75 trillion) × $2,762 = Individual share for a single $40K earner — calculate the per-taxpayer share. Show your work step by step. [PASTE DATA HERE]
✓ Verification step: cross-check the total against the Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 118-42) section for that agency, and confirm the share calculation in a spreadsheet using the IRS 2024 bracket tables.
Intermediate Year-over-year comparison for one program
›
I'm comparing [PROGRAM] spending between FY[YEAR1] and FY[YEAR2]. Using the data I've provided from USASpending and the Treasury MTS, calculate: 1. The raw dollar change in program budget 2. The percentage change 3. The change in per-taxpayer share — use the income tax denominator for each year from the MTS (not a single fixed denominator) 4. Note any factors that might explain the change (e.g. supplemental appropriations, legislative changes, COVID-era spending) Data: [PASTE DATA]
✓ Verification step: confirm the per-year income tax totals from the September MTS for each year. The denominator changes year to year — using a fixed $2.75T for non-2026 years will produce wrong results.
Advanced Sub-program breakdown from OMB data
›
I've downloaded the OMB Analytical Perspectives data for [AGENCY] from the President's FY2025 Budget. I want to understand the sub-program structure and calculate per-taxpayer shares for the three largest sub-programs. Using this methodology: (Sub-program Budget ÷ $2.75T) × $2,762 = Per-taxpayer share at $40K income. Please: (1) identify the three largest sub-programs by budget, (2) calculate the per-taxpayer share for each, (3) flag which figures are proposed vs. enacted, and (4) note which sub-programs are funded by general fund income tax vs. payroll tax or user fees (those should be excluded from this calculator's methodology). Data: [PASTE OMB TABLE DATA]
✓ Verification step: OMB reflects proposed budgets. Verify enacted figures against USASpending before publishing. Payroll-funded programs (Social Security, Medicare) should be excluded from the income-tax-only formula.
Hallucination watch — documented failure modes
FAILURE 01
Wrong denominator
AI uses total federal spending (~$6.8T) instead of individual income tax ($2.75T) as the denominator. This produces per-taxpayer shares 2.5× too high and is the most common error.
✓ Correct: always use the Treasury MTS individual income tax line — not total federal revenue, not total taxes including payroll.
FAILURE 02
Proposed vs. enacted confusion
AI cites the President's requested budget rather than the amount Congress actually appropriated. These can differ significantly — particularly for defense and foreign aid.
✓ Correct: use USASpending or the MTS for enacted/actual figures. The OMB Analytical Perspectives reflects proposed, not enacted.
FAILURE 03
Including payroll-funded programs
AI calculates a per-taxpayer share for Social Security or Medicare using the income tax formula. These programs are funded by FICA payroll taxes, not income taxes — the formula doesn't apply.
✓ Correct: exclude Social Security and Medicare from any income-tax-only calculation. They require a separate payroll tax methodology.
FAILURE 04
Wrong fiscal year
AI conflates calendar year and fiscal year, or uses a mid-year MTS figure instead of the September year-end statement. The federal fiscal year runs October–September, not January–December.
✓ Correct: always specify FY2026 = October 2025 through September 2026. Use only the September MTS for annual totals.