Department of EducationFY2025 and FY2026 to date
How much does the Department of Education spend?
$34.7 billion in fiscal year 2025: 0.50% of all federal spending.That is about $102 per US resident, or $213 per individual tax return. In FY2026 through August 2026 it spent $61.3 billion, down 56% on the same months of FY2025 ($140.0 billion). Gross outlays were $187.8 billion; the net figure is lower because student-loan repayments and re-estimates are subtracted. Treasury figures for the Department of Education.
By year
The Department of Education: $90.0 billion in FY2015, $34.7 billion in FY2025
Net outlays by fiscal year (October to September), nominal dollars · FY2026* = to August 2026
Every year as a table, with the share of federal outlays
| Fiscal year | Net outlays | Share of federal outlays |
|---|---|---|
| FY2026 to Aug '26 | $61.3 billion | 0.90% |
| FY2025 | $34.7 billion | 0.50% |
| FY2024 | $268.4 billion | 3.97% |
| FY2023 | -$41.1 billion | -0.67% |
| FY2022 | $639.4 billion | 10.19% |
| FY2021 | $260.4 billion | 3.82% |
| FY2020 | $204.4 billion | 3.12% |
| FY2019 | $104.4 billion | 2.35% |
| FY2018 | $63.7 billion | 1.55% |
| FY2017 | $111.7 billion | 2.81% |
| FY2016 | $77.0 billion | 2.00% |
| FY2015 | $90.0 billion | 2.44% |
U.S. Treasury, Monthly Treasury Statement, Table 5.
By month
Largest month: July 2025, $30.7 billion
Net outlays in each month. Large one-month amounts are usually lump-sum transfers or accounting adjustments.
Monthly figures as a table
| Month | Outlays in the month | Fiscal year to date |
|---|---|---|
| August 2026 | $8.4 billion | $61.3 billion |
| July 2026 | $7.1 billion | $52.9 billion |
| June 2026 | -$36.9 billion | $45.8 billion |
| May 2026 | $5.8 billion | $82.7 billion |
| April 2026 | $6.9 billion | $76.9 billion |
| March 2026 | $8.4 billion | $70.0 billion |
| February 2026 | $10.9 billion | $61.6 billion |
| January 2026 | $19.3 billion | $50.7 billion |
| December 2025 | $5.9 billion | $31.5 billion |
| November 2025 | $6.7 billion | $25.6 billion |
| October 2025 | $18.9 billion | $18.9 billion |
| September 2025 | -$105.3 billion | $34.7 billion |
| August 2025 | $8.5 billion | $140.0 billion |
| July 2025 | $30.7 billion | $131.5 billion |
| June 2025 | $7.9 billion | $100.8 billion |
| May 2025 | $6.7 billion | $92.9 billion |
| April 2025 | $7.3 billion | $86.2 billion |
| March 2025 | $8.1 billion | $78.9 billion |
| February 2025 | $8.1 billion | $70.8 billion |
| January 2025 | $20.0 billion | $62.6 billion |
| December 2024 | $10.7 billion | $42.7 billion |
| November 2024 | $9.4 billion | $31.9 billion |
| October 2024 | $22.6 billion | $22.6 billion |
| September 2024 | $17.8 billion | $268.4 billion |
U.S. Treasury, Monthly Treasury Statement, Table 5.
Why the totals jump around
Before offsetting collections such as loan repayments, the department's gross outlays were $187.8 billion in FY2025; net outlays, the official measure, were $34.7 billion.
Student loans are counted at their estimated lifetime cost to the government, and that estimate is revised every year for all loans already made. Those re-estimates, and changes to repayment rules, are booked as outlays (or negative outlays) of the Federal Direct Student Loans account in the year they are made. That account was $473.4 billion in FY2022 and $64.7 billion in FY2025.
The department's net outlays were negative in FY2023: the Treasury recorded more in downward loan re-estimates and repayments than the department paid out. In 2023 the Supreme Court struck down the student debt relief plan whose cost had been recorded in FY2022, and that cost was reversed.
Grant programs are steadier: elementary and secondary education and special education grants change little from year to year (table above).
The department's main accounts
Net outlays from the same Treasury table.
| Account | FY2015 | FY2025 | FY2026 so far |
|---|---|---|---|
| K-12 grants (Title I etc.) | $22.4B | $43.4B | $27.2B |
| Special education | $12.3B | $16.3B | $14.1B |
| Student aid (Pell etc.) | $31.6B | $42.1B | $33.6B |
| Direct student loans | $23.7B | $64.7B | $37.6B |
| All of Federal Student Aid | $57.6B | $111.2B | $80.5B |
| All of Education | $90.0B | $34.7B | $61.3B |
On your tax bill
Federal spending is paid for by all taxes and borrowing together, so each dollar of federal income tax is split in proportion to spending. The Department of Education took 0.50% of it in FY2025.
| Income | Income tax | To the Department of Education |
|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $2,620 | $12.98 |
| $60,000 | $5,020 | $24.86 |
| $75,000 | $7,670 | $37.99 |
| $100,000 | $13,170 | $65.23 |
| $150,000 | $24,734 | $122 |
What this counts
Net outlays of the US Department of Education: grants to school districts (Title I, special education), Pell Grants and other student aid, and the cost of federal student loans. Most school funding is state and local and is not included.
Figures are net outlays: payments made, minus any offsetting collections credited to the same accounts, as printed in the Monthly Treasury Statement. They are not adjusted for inflation. In the budget-function view it falls under education.
Questions and answers
- How much does the US spend on the Department of Education a year?
- $34.7 billion in fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025), in net outlays recorded by the Treasury for the Department of Education. In FY2024 it was $268.4 billion.
- What share of the federal budget goes to the Department of Education?
- 0.50% of all federal outlays in FY2025 ($34.7 billion of $7.01 trillion): about $5 of every $1,000 the government spent.
- How much is that per person?
- About $102 per US resident in FY2025, or $95.1 million a day.
- How much does the Department of Education cost per taxpayer?
- About $213 per individual income tax return: $34.7 billion divided by the 162.8 million individual returns the IRS received in FY2025. Federal spending is paid for by all taxes and borrowing together, so this is an average, not what any one taxpayer pays; your tax receipt shows your own share.
- How much has been spent on the Department of Education in 2026?
- In FY2026 through August 2026 it spent $61.3 billion, down 56% on the same months of FY2025 ($140.0 billion). Fiscal year 2026 ended on 30 September 2026; the September statement, published in mid-October, completes it.
- Is this the budget or actual spending?
- Actual spending: outlays are what the Treasury paid out in each fiscal year. The budget Congress passes sets budget authority (what an agency may commit), which can be spent over several years, so appropriations in the news can differ from these figures.
Related
- Federal student loansby year
- Pell Grantsby year
- What % of taxes go to educationby year
- Every federal program62 programs
- Your federal tax receiptcalculator
Sources and notes
- U.S. Department of the Treasury, Monthly Treasury Statement, Table 5: Outlays of the U.S. Government, line "Department of Education", every month from March 2015 to 2026-08-31, Fiscal Data API. Public domain.
- Per tax return: 162,754,810 individual income tax returns filed in FY2025, IRS Data Book Table 1-2.
- Population: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates, 50 states and DC.
- Tax on your bill: 2026 IRS brackets and standard deduction (Rev. Proc. 2025-32 as amended), as in our calculator.