# Federal Budget FY2022 The fiscal year **Oct 1, 2021 – Sep 30, 2022**, under the Biden administration — the baseline year for this ledger and the start of the pandemic-spending unwind. **Headline:** outlays **$6.27 trillion**, revenues **$4.90 trillion** (a record, inflated by strong capital gains and inflation), deficit **$1.38 trillion** (5.4% of GDP). The deficit more than halved from FY2021's $2.78T as emergency COVID programs expired, but outlays still ran a high **25.1% of GDP**. Gross debt closed at **$30.92 trillion**. The [[Inflation Reduction Act]] and CHIPS and Science Act were both signed this year. ## Headline totals | Metric | FY2022 | |---|--:| | Total outlays | $6,273B | | Total revenues | $4,897B (record) | | Deficit | −$1,376B | | Deficit % of GDP | −5.4% | | Outlays % of GDP | 25.1% | | Debt held by public (EOY) | ~$24,300B | | Gross federal debt (EOY) | $30,920B | ## Outlays by budget function (cash basis) $ billions, from the Treasury Combined Statement. See [[Budget Functions]]. | Function | FY2022 | |---|--:| | 650 [[Social Security]] | 1,218.7 | | 550 Health ([[Medicaid]], ACA, CHIP) | 914.5 | | 600 [[Income Security]] | 865.9 | | 050 National Defense | 766.7 | | 570 [[Medicare]] | 755.1 | | 500 Education, Training, Employment & Social Services | 676.6 | | 900 [[Net Interest on the Debt]] | 475.1 | | 700 [[Veterans Benefits]] | 274.4 | | 400 Transportation | 131.6 | | 370 Commerce & Housing Credit | 119.8 | | 450 Community & Regional Development | 72.1 | | 750 [[Administration of Justice]] | 72.1 | | 150 [[International Affairs]] | 71.7 | | 300 Natural Resources & Environment | 39.6 | | 250 General Science, Space & Technology | 37.5 | | 350 Agriculture | 37.3 | | 800 General Government | 33.6 | | 270 Energy | −9.1 | | 950 Undistributed Offsetting Receipts | −235.0 | | **Total** | **6,271.6** | The standout is **Education at $676.6B** — wildly inflated by the upfront booking of the Biden student-loan forgiveness program, which was reversed in FY2023 after the Supreme Court struck it down (*Biden v. Nebraska*). It is not real FY2022 spending. Note also that [[Net Interest on the Debt]] is still only $475B here — barely half its FY2025 level, before the rate-hike surge. ## Outlays by agency (cash basis) $ billions, from the Treasury Monthly Treasury Statement (Table 5). | Agency | FY2022 | |---|--:| | Health & Human Services | 1,642.9 | | Social Security Administration | 1,282.1 | | Treasury (incl. interest) | 1,162.2 | | Defense — Military | 726.6 | | Education (inflated by student-loan booking) | 639.4 | | [[Department of Veterans Affairs]] | 273.9 | | Agriculture | 245.2 | | Transportation | 113.7 | | Office of Personnel Management | 113.6 | | Homeland Security | 80.9 | | Labor | 51.7 | | Justice | 39.6 | | International Assistance (incl. USAID) | 35.8 | | State | 33.2 | | Housing & Urban Development | 29.3 | | NASA | 23.1 | | Energy | 22.4 | | Interior | 13.9 | | Commerce | 11.7 | | EPA | 9.3 | | Undistributed offsetting receipts | −418.9 | | All other agencies (net) | ~83 | | **Total** | **6,271.6** | ## The RWKB read FY2022 is the "before" picture: record revenue and a falling deficit, which makes the FY2023–2024 deterioration (revenue collapse, the [[Net Interest on the Debt]] spike) the more striking. It is also the high-water mark for outlays-to-GDP in this series. The mandatory giants ([[Social Security]], [[Medicare]], [[Medicaid]]) already dominate; interest is still cheap, and the Education line is a one-time mirage. ## Sources - CBO, *Monthly Budget Review* FY2022 — totals. - U.S. Treasury, *Combined Statement* (Outlays by Function) — function table. - U.S. Treasury, *Monthly Treasury Statement* Table 5 (Outlays by Agency), Sept FY2023 prior-year column — agency table. - GAO, *Schedules of Federal Debt* FY2022 (GAO-24-106340). ## Related - [[Federal Budget FY2023]] · [[Budget Hub]] - [[Inflation Reduction Act]] · [[Federal Deficit and National Debt]]