WHY AN ESTIMATED BUDGET?

The current administration has yet to release a budget proposal. Consequently, the figures presented here are a rough estimate of the FY2027 budget (Oct. 1, 2026 – Sep. 30, 2027).

These figures are projected estimates based on past analyses, Feb. 2026 Congressional Budget Office analysis, and recent administration statements, such as the President’s intention to add $600 billion to the Pentagon budget. We know from Project 2025 and administration actions that the trend is towards higher military spending. Congress has done little to oppose this.

Since 1977 WRL’s pie charts have used the Analytical Perspectives book of the Budget of the United States Government for each fiscal year for this analysis. However, the government did not produce budget books in 2025, and the current administration may produce only a “blueprint” of its FY2027 budget request to Congress.

Our analysis intends to show where income taxes go; these are Federal funds that do not include Trust funds — such as Social Security — which are raised and spent separately from income taxes. Potential cuts to Social Security and Medicare are not reflected in this pie chart. For further explanation, please go to warresisters.org.

What you pay (or don’t pay) by April 15, 2026, goes to the Federal funds portion of the budget. The government practice of combining Trust and Federal funds began during the Vietnam War, intending to make the human needs portion of the budget appear larger and the military portion smaller during that unpopular war.

SOURCES: Budget-based news, including New York Times, Costs of War Project (costsofwar.watson.brown.edu), nationalpriorities.org, plus data from the Congressional Budget Office among other sources

*Analysts differ on how much of the debt stems from the military; other groups estimate 50% to 60%. We use 80% because we believe if there had been no military spending, most of the national debt would have been eliminated.

Leaflet with this flyer year-round and on Tax Day, April 15, 2026, and during the Global Days of Action on Military Spending, April 10 – May 9, 2026, demilitarize.org.

Get involved in WRL’s organizing and education work: nonviolent direct action training, counter-military recruitment, internationalist work, and more. Visit WRL’s membership handbook at warresisters.org/joinwrl. Find resources to challenge militarism, curb police and border patrol power, strengthen nonviolent action and lift up community resilience!

Write elected officials, letters-to-the-editor, and posts online. Congress votes for military increases despite public opposition. Demand change! Send them copies of this flyer and share it with your friends and family.

Divest from war! Refuse to pay all or part of your federal income tax. Though illegal, thousands of people openly participate in this form of protest. Whatever you choose to refuse—$1, $10, 48% or 100%—send a letter to elected officials and tell them why. Contact us for information or referral to a counselor near you. Contribute resisted tax money to groups that work for the common good.

For more about refusing to pay for war, brochures, and other resources, contact the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee, (800) 269-7464 or see nwtrcc.org.

Order a DVD of NWTRCC’s film, Death and Taxes (or stream online) from NWTRCC’s online store.

Read and use War Tax Resistance: A Guide to Withholding Your Support from the Military, a handbook revised in 2025 (and updated annually) with history, methods and resources. Available for $20 plus postage (and now available for $12.99 as an ebook for the first time ever!) from WRL’s online store.

Your Letters

Learning from Soldiers

WRL Author

Review Cart