Revenue Composition
Breakdown of federal receipts by source — individual income, corporate income, social insurance contributions, excise taxes, and customs duties (tariffs) as shares of total revenue over time.
About this data
Federal revenue composition describes where the U.S. government's money comes from — the mix of taxes and fees that funds roughly $5 trillion in annual receipts. Five sources account for nearly all of it: individual income taxes, corporate income taxes, social insurance (payroll) contributions, excise taxes, and customs duties (tariffs). The component figures here come from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis National Income and Product Accounts, with total receipts benchmarked to the Treasury's fiscal-year data. Individual income and payroll taxes together now supply the large majority of federal revenue, while the corporate income tax — once roughly a third of receipts in the 1950s — contributes under a tenth today. Customs duties remain a small share but have drawn fresh attention as tariff policy has expanded.
The composition matters because it determines who bears the cost of government and how sensitive revenue is to the business cycle. Individual income and corporate receipts swing sharply with recessions and market booms, while payroll taxes are comparatively stable — which is why the revenue mix shifts during downturns even when tax law is unchanged. Tracking each source as a share of total receipts, rather than in raw dollars, strips out inflation and economic growth and exposes the structural shift toward payroll-funded entitlement programs and away from corporate taxation. The charts below show both the absolute dollars and the percentage shares back to the 1930s, each available as a free CSV or JSON download.
Federal revenue mix — headline figures
Revenue Sources as Share of Total Receipts
Each tax category as a percentage of total federal revenue — stacked to 100%
- Individual Income
- Corporate Income
- Social Insurance
- Excise Taxes
- Customs Duties
- Other
Revenue by Source (Absolute)
Annual federal receipts by tax category — stacked bars in billions
- Individual Income
- Corporate Income
- Social Insurance
- Excise Taxes
- Customs Duties
- Other
Current Revenue Mix (FY2025)
Share of total receipts by source — latest available fiscal year
- Individual Income
- Corporate Income
- Social Insurance
- Excise Taxes
- Customs Duties
- Other
Revenue Share Trend Lines
Each source's share of total receipts over time — illustrates structural shifts in tax composition
- Individual Income %
- Corporate Income %
- Social Insurance %
- Excise %
- Customs Duties %
Annual Revenue Data
| Fiscal Year | Individual | Corporate | Social Ins. | Excise | Customs | Total | Ind. % | Corp. % | Customs % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $2.60T | $497B | $2.00T | $101B | $265B | $5.24T | 49.6% | 9.5% | 5.1% |
| FY2024 | $2.40T | $492B | $1.90T | $100B | $84B | $4.92T | 48.8% | 10.0% | 1.7% |
| FY2023 | $2.28T | $426B | $1.79T | $94B | $82B | $4.44T | 51.3% | 9.6% | 1.8% |
| FY2022 | $2.61T | $412B | $1.69T | $98B | $102B | $4.90T | 53.2% | 8.4% | 2.1% |
| FY2021 | $2.13T | $335B | $1.54T | $90B | $89B | $4.05T | 52.6% | 8.3% | 2.2% |
| FY2020 | $1.74T | $225B | $1.43T | $85B | $69B | $3.42T | 50.9% | 6.6% | 2.0% |
| FY2019 | $1.70T | $210B | $1.41T | $96B | $78B | $3.46T | 49.1% | 6.1% | 2.2% |
| FY2018 | $1.61T | $225B | $1.35T | $109B | $53B | $3.33T | 48.5% | 6.8% | 1.6% |
| FY2017 | $1.61T | $230B | $1.28T | $92B | $39B | $3.32T | 48.6% | 6.9% | 1.2% |
| FY2016 | $1.55T | $312B | $1.22T | $99B | $38B | $3.27T | 47.4% | 9.5% | 1.1% |
| FY2015 | $1.53T | $329B | $1.19T | $103B | $38B | $3.25T | 47.2% | 10.1% | 1.2% |
| FY2014 | $1.40T | $340B | $1.14T | $98B | $37B | $3.02T | 46.5% | 11.2% | 1.2% |
| FY2013 | $1.30T | $298B | $1.09T | $89B | $35B | $2.78T | 46.9% | 10.8% | 1.3% |
| FY2012 | $1.17T | $275B | $938B | $81B | $34B | $2.45T | 47.6% | 11.2% | 1.4% |
| FY2011 | $1.13T | $224B | $903B | $76B | $32B | $2.30T | 49.1% | 9.7% | 1.4% |
| FY2010 | $944B | $219B | $971B | $67B | $29B | $2.16T | 43.6% | 10.1% | 1.3% |
| FY2009 | $867B | $153B | $951B | $67B | $23B | $2.10T | 41.2% | 7.3% | 1.1% |
| FY2008 | $1.18T | $202B | $974B | $64B | $29B | $2.52T | 46.6% | 8.0% | 1.2% |
| FY2007 | $1.17T | $328B | $947B | $65B | $29B | $2.57T | 45.6% | 12.8% | 1.1% |
| FY2006 | $1.06T | $366B | $906B | $71B | $27B | $2.41T | 43.9% | 15.2% | 1.1% |
| FY2005 | $937B | $319B | $853B | $73B | $25B | $2.15T | 43.5% | 14.8% | 1.2% |
| FY2004 | $803B | $232B | $809B | $71B | $23B | $1.88T | 42.7% | 12.4% | 1.2% |
| FY2003 | $779B | $176B | $763B | $68B | $21B | $1.78T | 43.7% | 9.9% | 1.2% |
| FY2002 | $832B | $126B | $739B | $66B | $20B | $1.85T | 44.9% | 6.8% | 1.1% |
| FY2001 | $996B | $138B | $723B | $64B | $21B | $1.99T | 50.0% | 6.9% | 1.0% |
| FY2000 | $1000B | $194B | $699B | $65B | $21B | $2.03T | 49.4% | 9.6% | 1.0% |
| FY1999 | $897B | $188B | $655B | $63B | $19B | $1.83T | 49.1% | 10.3% | 1.0% |
| FY1998 | $831B | $178B | $617B | $60B | $20B | $1.72T | 48.3% | 10.3% | 1.1% |
| FY1997 | $750B | $182B | $579B | $58B | $20B | $1.58T | 47.5% | 11.5% | 1.2% |
| FY1996 | $668B | $171B | $545B | $54B | $19B | $1.45T | 46.0% | 11.7% | 1.3% |
Key Terms
Frequently asked questions
Where does the US federal government get its revenue?
Individual income taxes provide about 50% of federal receipts. Payroll taxes (Social Security and Medicare) provide about 35%. Corporate income taxes contribute 7–10%. Excise taxes, customs duties, and miscellaneous receipts (Federal Reserve earnings, estate taxes, fees) make up the remainder.
What share of federal revenue comes from individual income tax?
Individual income taxes are the largest single source — consistently around half of total receipts across the past several decades. The 2017 tax cuts (TCJA) lowered statutory rates but revenue as a share of GDP has remained near historic norms as wages, employment, and capital-gains realizations offset the rate cuts.
How much does the corporate income tax raise?
Corporate income taxes have contributed 7–10% of federal receipts in recent years — down from roughly 30% in the 1950s. The 2017 TCJA cut the statutory corporate rate from 35% to 21%. Receipts as a share of GDP have fluctuated with corporate profits, bonus-depreciation schedules, and international tax rules.