Don't Mess With Taxes

Last week, millions of us filed our 2013 income taxes. 

So what are Uncle Sam's plans for our money?

Several groups crunched the numbers and offer a look not only at the overall federal spending, but online tools with which we can get an idea of how much our specific tax bills are spent on which programs.

The National Priorities Project created the dollar graphic below showing how one dollar in taxes is was parceled out in fiscal year 2013.

Social Security and Medicare taxes are not included.

Since we all paid more than $1 National Priorities also created an individualized taxpayer receipt tool.

The receipt I ran shows how $26,000 in federal income taxes -- I just picked a number out of the air -- was spent by the government in fiscal year 2013.

The White House has its own taxpayer receipt online calculator.

You can enter your own dollar amounts or choose a preselected taxpayer scenario, ranging from a single individual with no children and $25,000 in income to a married couple with two kids and earnings of $80,000, to find the dollar amounts. The figures will be based on the following percentages.

National defense, says 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, gets the most of our income taxes.

The health care programs that come in second include Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare doctor payments and prescription drug payments, health research and food safety programs and disease control and public health services.

Finally, one more infographic, this one from MoneyTips.com, breaks down where our tax dollars go.

All the percentages in all the graphics are very close.

Are you surprised at how much or how little is spent in certain areas? Which federal programs would you prefer not get your tax dollars?

You also might find these items of interest:

• How your tax dollars are spent (circa 2009)
• Where your federal taxes went, are going    
• Taxpayer receipt detailing where our federal dollars go is getting more support