Many US households spent hundreds more tax dollars on the military last year, according to new analysis, as Donald Trump’s plans to dramatically increase federal defense spending faces growing scrutiny.
Millions of Americans will race to file their taxes today, the final day for federal returns, amid concern over rising living costs and government spending.
The US-Israeli war with Iran has drawn vast US expenditure on war into the spotlight: Pentagon officials reportedly told lawmakers in March that they estimated the cost of the war had exceeded $11.3bn in the first six days alone, before Trump proposed increasing defense spending by roughly 40% earlier this month, while other government programs would face cuts totaling 10%.
About $4,049 of the average taxpaying household’s federal income taxes went to military-related spending in 2025, according to a new report from the progressive Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) thinktank – up from $3,707 in 2024.
Military-related spending in 2025 includes around $1,870 going to Pentagon contractors, about $770 to military personnel, $130 for nuclear weapons and $57 for aid to foreign militaries.
“These enormous sums for the Pentagon and militarism more broadly come with enormous costs to ordinary people – both in terms of the opportunity cost for other programs and the drain on our wallets,” the IPS said.
The spending of 2025 tax receipts does not account for the cost of the US-Israeli war with Iran, which began in February 2026.
Beyond military spending, the report estimates that $2,492 of the average taxpayer’s federal income tax went to Medicaid, which provided health coverage to 68.5m Americans in 2025; another $2,207 went to Medicare, a government-run health insurance program for older and disabled people; and $31 to substance abuse and mental health programs.
The report also estimates that the average taxpayer paid around $396 for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap), previously known as food stamps; $607 for the Department of Education; $179 for the Fema disaster relief fund; $131 for the Environmental Protection Agency; $79 for Customs and Border Protection; $39 for Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and $19 for the US Postal Service, among other allocations.
The analysis is based on an average “tax filing unit” – which could be a single taxpayer, married couple or family – with a total taxable income of $104,000, according to Lindsay Koshgarian, one of the authors. Its calculations are based on public data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the office of management and budget (OMB).
Americans have filed their taxes this year amid growing public concern over cost of living, taxes and government spending. A Fox News poll from March found that 70% of registered voters surveyed believe their taxes are too high, up 11 points from last year.
The same poll also found that 29% of registered voters said that they were concerned with “how the government spends their tax dollars” and around 38% of voters surveyed said that they believe the wealthy are not paying enough.
Other surveys underline a similar sentiment. A January Pew Research Center poll found that 60% of Americans believe they pay “more than their fair share” in taxes, up from 56% in 2023 and roughly 50% in 2019 and 2021.
Gallup polling conducted in March likewise found that about 60% of Americans say their taxes are too high, a finding that Gallup said has been largely consistent in the annual poll since 2023.
“Americans’ views of their taxes have remained near their most negative levels in two decades for the past three years, both in perceptions of the amount paid and whether it is fair,” Gallup wrote in its report.
The report acknowledged “it’s possible” that some of the 2025 tax changes, such as the tax cuts passed by the Republicans last year, which included exempting tip income and providing an expanded tax deduction for seniors, “will have a greater impact on public opinion about taxes as more people file their returns this month”.
As a result of the legislation passed by the Republicans last year, some taxpayers are receiving larger refunds this year, but the Gallup report pointed out this comes alongside rising living costs. “With the Iran war pushing up gas and other consumer prices, Americans’ eroding purchasing power may matter more to perceptions than whatever relief they get from Uncle Sam,” it said.
Recent data has shown that US inflation surged in March, with prices up 0.9% compared with last month and 3.3% over the year, amid the US-Israel war with Iran. And the University of Michigan’s consumer confidence survey, also released last week, recorded a 10.7% drop to its lowest level on record.
