How much of your personal income tax funds NASA?
 

 

 

Table 1

Personal Income Tax Paid To NASA In 2009
By Income Level
                     
    Adjusted Gross Income   Average Total Federal Income Tax Owed [1]   Average Amount Of Personal Income Tax That Funded NASA  
   
 
 
 
                     
    $1 to $5,000     $131     $0.35    
    $5,000 to $10,000     $200     $0.53    
    $10,000 to $15,000     $294     $0.78    
    $15,000 to $20,000     $517     $1.38    
    $20,000 to $25,000     $1,007     $2.68    
    $25,000 to $30,000     $1,483     $3.95    
    $30,000 to $40,000     $2,101     $5.60    
    $40,000 to $50,000     $3,031     $8.07    
    $50,000 to $75,000     $4,740     $12.62    
    $75,000 to $100,000     $7,326     $19.51    
    $100,000 to $200,000     $15,873     $42.27    
    $200,000 to $500,000     $55,475     $147.73    
    $500,000 to $1,000,000     $164,233     $437.36    
    $1,000,000 to $1,500,000     $304,944     $812.08    
    $1,500,000 to $2,000,000     $440,605     $1,173.35    
    $2,000,000 to $5,000,000     $762,877     $2,031.58    
    $5,000,00 to $10,000,000     $1,729,208     $4,604.97    
    $10,000,000 or more     $6,551,008     $17,445.67    
                     
                     
 

On average in 2009:

  • If your adjusted gross income was less than $75,000, you paid less than $13 to NASA.
    78% of those who filed had an AGI less than $75,000.
  • If your adjusted gross income was less than $50,000, you paid less than $9 to NASA.
    64% of those who filed had an AGI less than $50,000.
  • If your adjusted gross income was less than $30,000, you paid less than $4 to NASA.
    46% of those who filed had an AGI less than $30,000.
  

 

 

 

 

Table 2

Percentage Of Personal Income Tax That
Funded NASA In 2009

  
         
  Total federal outlays minus FICA (Medicare and Social Security) [2] :   $2,404,621,000,000  
  Total personal federal income tax owed [1] :     $865,948,695,000  
  Percentage of federal outlays (minus FICA) funded from personal income tax :     36.0 %  
  Percentage of federal outlays (minus FICA) spent on NASA (Table 3) :   0.74 %  
  Percentage of personal income tax spent on NASA (36.0% x 0.74%) :     0.27 %  
         

 

 

Table 3

Recent Federal Outlays
(in billions of dollars)
                                               
  Year   Total Federal Outlays [2]   Total Federal Outlays Minus FICA [2]   NASA
Outlays 		   Percentage of Federal Outlays
Spent on NASA		   Percentage of Federal Outlays
(Minus FICA)
Spent on NASA		   Defense Outlays [2]   Percentage of Federal Outlays
(Minus FICA)
Spent on Defense		  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  2011   $3,603     $2,387     $18.4 [g]     0.51%     0.77%     $705.6     29.57%    
  2010   $3,456     $2,298     $18.7 [f]     0.54%     0.81%     $693.6     30.18%    
  2009   $3,518     $2,405     $17.8 [e]     0.51%     0.74%     $661.0     27.49%    
  2008   $2,983     $1,975     $17.4 [d]     0.58%     0.88%     $616.1     31.20%    
  2007   $2,729     $1,767     $16.3 [c]     0.60%     0.92%     $551.3     31.20%    
  2006   $2,655     $1,777     $16.6 [b]     0.63%     0.94%     $521.8     29.37%    
  2005   $2,472     $1,650     $16.1 [a]     0.65%     0.97%     $495.3     30.02%    
                                               

 

Chart 1

2009 Federal Spending Compared
To NASA Spending[2][e]
(in billions of dollars)

Federal Spending

 

 

To help further the cause of space exploration and colonization

 

Please consider donating to these tax deductible, non-profit organizations:
The Planetary Society: planetary.org
National Space Society: nss.org

 

Please contact your senator and representative directly and urge them to increase funding for NASA and other space related programs.
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SOURCES
 
1. IRS.gov - Individual Complete Report (Publication 1304), Table 1.1
2. whitehouse.gov, Office of Management and Budget, Table 3.1 - Outlays by Superfunction and Function: 1940–2017
a. NASA President's FY 2006 Budget Request
b. NASA President's FY 2007 Budget Request
c. NASA FY 2009 Budget Request Summary
d. NASA FY 2010 Budget Request Summary
e. NASA FY 2011 Budget Request Summary
f. NASA President's FY 2012 Budget Request Detail
g. NASA FY 2013 President's Budget Request Summary

 

 

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