How has federal spending changed over the years, adjusted for inflation?
Obligations (inflation-adjusted) by fiscal year across all loaded years: from $5.11T (2023) to $4.97T (2026). FY2026 is still in progress (data through 2026-09-29).
| Fiscal year | Obligations |
|---|---|
| 2023 | $5.11T |
| 2024 | $5.08T |
| 2025 | $5.32T |
| 2026 | $4.97T |
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How to read this
- Adjusted for inflation: amounts are in FY2025 dollars (BLS consumer price index, CPI-U, averaged over each fiscal year; a year in progress uses the months published so far).
- Amounts are obligations (money committed), not outlays (money paid).
- FY2026 is not complete: data as of 2026-09-29.
- No year given: covers FY2023–FY2026.
- Recent defense contracts are undercounted: DoD publishes contract actions with about a 90-day delay, so amounts after 2026-07-01 are incomplete or missing.