Where does my tax money go and why don't I get an itemized statement?

I completely understand your frustration. The lack of a personalized receipt for taxes is something many taxpayers find frustrating. While you don't get an itemized statement for your specific contribution, the federal government does publish detailed budget information that shows how tax dollars are allocated. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Treasury Department publish annual reports showing government spending by category. If you're curious about where your specific $42,300 went, you can look at the federal budget percentages and calculate approximate amounts. In general, the largest portions go to Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, defense, and interest on the national debt. Smaller percentages go to education, transportation, veterans benefits, and other programs. The reason we don't get to choose where our tax money goes is because taxation works on a collective basis rather than an individual one. It's based on the idea that elected representatives make spending decisions on behalf of citizens through the democratic process.

After going through similar frustration with my taxes, I found this amazing AI tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that actually breaks down where your tax money goes based on the federal budget! I was skeptical at first, but it gave me a personalized "receipt" showing approximately how much of my taxes went to different programs. It also explained how the budget process works and showed me ways to better understand government spending. What I found most useful was their analysis of how tax policies have changed over time and how that affected where my money goes. I've been using it to track year-over-year changes to see if there are any significant shifts in spending priorities.

I tried out taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here and was actually really impressed! It gave me a detailed breakdown showing that about 24% of my tax payment went to Social Security, 25% to healthcare programs, 15% to defense, and smaller amounts to other categories. What I found most valuable was seeing exactly how much of my money ($7,800 from my tax payment) went to interest payments on the national debt - that was eye-opening. The tool also explained how budget appropriations work and the difference between mandatory and discretionary spending. Way more informative than I expected and definitely helped me understand the tax system better.

If you're frustrated about not getting answers from the IRS about your tax questions, I had the exact same problem until I found this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). After spending HOURS trying to reach someone at the IRS with questions about tax allocation and getting nowhere, I used Claimyr and got through to a real person in less than 20 minutes! They have this system that holds your place in the IRS phone queue so you don't have to listen to that awful hold music for hours. You can see how it works in their demo video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The IRS agent I spoke with actually explained some of the budget allocation processes and directed me to resources where I could see more detailed breakdowns. Saved me so much time and frustration.

I'm seriously eating my words right now. After being super skeptical about Claimyr, I decided to try it because I had some complicated questions about tax allocation that I couldn't find answers to online. I was shocked when I got a call back in 25 minutes telling me an IRS agent was on the line. The agent couldn't give me a personalized breakdown of my tax dollars, but they did email me links to several government resources that showed detailed federal spending reports and explained the budget process. They also clarified which parts of taxes go to which programs. Having a real conversation saved me hours of research and frustration. I hate admitting when I'm wrong, but this service actually delivered what it promised.

Look into the concept of "tax expenditure analysis" - its basically a form of govt spending that happens through the tax code rather than direct spending. Things like mortgage interest deductions, tax-free employer health insurance, 401k tax deferrals etc. These "tax expenditures" cost the govt hundreds of billions but dont show up on regular budget docs. https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/what-are-tax-expenditures-and-how-are-they-structured

Has anyone tried using those tax choice designation options on some state tax forms? Like in CA we can choose to donate part of our refund to specific causes. I wish the federal return had something similar! Maybe even just like 10% of your taxes could be allocated to departments of your choice?

I completely get your frustration! $42,300 is a huge amount to pay without knowing exactly where it goes. While we can't get personalized receipts, there are actually some good resources to see the bigger picture. The White House Office of Management and Budget publishes a "Taxpayer Receipt" tool that lets you input your tax amount and see approximately how it breaks down across major categories like defense, healthcare, Social Security, etc. It's not perfect, but it gives you a much better sense of where your dollars are going than the complete black box we usually get. What really opened my eyes was learning that a significant chunk goes to mandatory spending (Social Security, Medicare, interest on debt) that Congress can't easily change, versus discretionary spending where there's more annual debate. Understanding that distinction helped me realize why budget fights often focus on a relatively smaller portion of total spending. I also started following my representatives' voting records on budget bills more closely since that's really our main way to influence these decisions. It's not the same as choosing where our money goes directly, but it's something!