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FY2023 federal balance

Is Washington a donor?

In FY2023, Washington’s residents paid about $809 million more in federal taxes than the federal government spent inside the state. For every $1 in federal taxes paid by Washington, the state got back only $0.99 in federal spending.

What this measures: federal taxes collected from people and companies in Washington (income tax, payroll tax, corporate tax) compared against federal dollars spent inside Washington (Social Security to retirees, Medicare and Medicaid, federal employee salaries, contracts, grants).

“Per resident” figures are state-level totals divided by population — not money each person personally received. They fold together direct payments to individuals, federal salaries, government grants, and corporate contracts. Treat them as a way to compare states, not as a per-person check. Use the calculator below to see your own balance.

Federal taxes paid$122.6 billion$15,692 / resident
Federal spending received$121.8 billion$15,588 / resident
Net loss$809 million$104 / resident
Return per $1$0.99gets less than it pays

Where the spending lands

The $121.8B of federal spending in Washington splits into four buckets. Only one of them — direct payments — flows to people. The rest goes to companies, contractors, the state government, or federal workers.

  • Direct payments
    $75.1B61.7%

    Social Security, Medicare, veterans benefits, federal retirement, food assistance — paid directly to people in the state.

  • Grants to state & local govt
    $21.9B18.0%

    Medicaid match, highway funding, education aid, public housing — flows through the state government, not to individuals.

  • Contracts to companies
    $13B10.7%

    Federal procurement — defense, IT, professional services. Money goes to the contractor, not residents.

  • Federal salaries
    $10.2B8.4%

    Wages for federal employees stationed in the state: military bases, federal labs, court staff, agency offices.

  • Other identified
    $1.6B1.3%

    OPM-administered retirement, interest, and minor line items.

How Washington compares

Among the 50 states plus D.C., Washington ranks #49 by per-resident balance. A lower number means a bigger gain per resident; a higher number means a bigger loss per resident. (D.C. is typically treated separately because it’s a federal district, not a state — so the Comptroller’s “official” 50-state ranking would put Washington at #48.)

On a per-resident basis, federal spending attributed to Washington was about $15,588, while federal taxes attributed to Washington were about $15,692 — a net negative balance of about $104 per resident. Again — that’s a state-level number divided by population, not a personal benefit. It includes federal salaries, contracts to companies, and grants to the state government, not just checks to individuals.

Because the federal government spends more than it collects each year (~$1.7T deficit in FY2023), most states show a positive balance on paper — the deficit has to land somewhere. The honest comparison is the return ratio: how many federal dollars come back per dollar sent. The national ratio is $1.32 per $1. Washington sits at $0.99 per $1 — below the break-even line, putting in more than it gets back.

See how much you personally paid into the federal pot

Washington’s balance is the state-level picture. Plug in your salary and filing status to see your own federal tax bill and where it goes across the budget.

Compute your receipt →

Other states & D.C.

● Verified — figures are based on the New York State Comptroller’s FFY 2023 Balance of Payments report and its full Excel supplement. Per-capita tax, spending, and balance figures are matched to the Comptroller’s published data; totals are rounded for display.

Sources: NY State Comptroller, “New York’s Balance of Payments in the Federal Budget: Federal Fiscal Year 2023” (April 2025); Rockefeller Institute of Government, “Giving or Getting?” 2025 report; IRS Data Book Table 5.