Each year, CBO releases a set of four budget infographics that provide a detailed look at the past fiscal year as well as broader trends over the past few decades. Today, CBO published the latest infographics showing the federal budget results in fiscal year 2022.
These infographics help people understand how much the government spends and takes in each year and what programs and revenue sources account for the largest portions of those budgetary flows.
The first two infographics (which feature the budgetary overview and mandatory spending) show that Social Security and Medicare were the major drivers of mandatory spending in 2022; combined, spending for those programs eclipsed discretionary spending, which is presented in the third infographic. Two factors helped boost 2022 outlays above historical levels: the upfront costs recorded for the Administration’s student loan forgiveness plan and continued spending for programs enacted in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Individual income taxes, shown in the fourth infographic, reached a historical high as a share of the economy in part because of greater-than-usual capital gains realizations.
You can view the infographics for 2022 below, including an interactive version of the one about the overall federal budget:
- The Federal Budget in Fiscal Year 2022
- Mandatory Spending in Fiscal Year 2022
- Discretionary Spending in Fiscal Year 2022
- Revenues in Fiscal Year 2022
Infographics for other years are also available.
Dan Ready is an analyst in CBO’s Budget Analysis Division.