U.S. Agencies Wasted $135B in 2024 and Just 16.5% Was Recovered

The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has been a lightning rod for controversy in the second Trump administration. DOGE was established by executive order in January 2025 with the stated purpose of increasing transparency and accountability, modernizing technology, and cutting wasteful spending within the federal government — initiatives all ultimately aimed at saving taxpayer money.

Before his resignation in May 2025, DOGE was headed by the billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, who had initially intended to reduce federal spending by $2 trillion. Musk’s ambitions proved overly optimistic, however, as he subsequently adjusted his department’s savings goal to $1 trillion, before downgrading it again to $150 billion. Since its inception, DOGE has faced allegations of incompetence and misleading accounting practices. The department fired thousands of federal employees only to rehire them, and claimed to have saved more money than it could actually demonstrate. (Here is a look at the government agencies targeted by DOGE.)

But while DOGE may have fallen short of its objectives, wasteful government spending remains a problem worthy of attention. According to the Office of Management and Budget, federal agencies made nearly $841 billion in overpayments in the last five years. Simply by making accurate payments, the government could have saved taxpayers more than $135 billion in fiscal 2024 alone.

Using data from the OMB, 24/7 Wall St. identified the government agencies wasting the most taxpayer money. The 15 federal agencies on this list are ranked by the dollar value of overpayments made in the government’s 2024 fiscal year. All supplemental data in this story also came from the OMB.

Among the agencies on this list, overpayments in fiscal 2024 range from $10.6 million to nearly $83 billion. While some of this money can be recovered, taxpayers are ultimately responsible for much of the wasted spending. The agencies on this list recovered a reported $22.3 billion in improperly made payments in fiscal 2024, some of which were paid in error in a previous year. Still, this amounts to only about 16.5% of the total overpayments made in 2024. (Here is a look at the states where Americans pay the most of their income in taxes.)

Importantly, government agencies are not always directly responsible for overpayments. In seven of the 15 agencies on this list, over half of the total value of overpayments in the last fiscal year were determined to have been outside of agency control. A small portion of these cases were due to fraud. However, for five federal agencies on this list, all overpayments in fiscal 2024 were determined to be entirely within the department’s control.

These are the government agencies wasting the most taxpayer money.

Why It Matters

The United States federal government spent $6.75 trillion in fiscal 2024, more than the combined revenue of the top 20 Fortune 500 companies. The larger the budget, the greater the opportunity for waste, fraud, and abuse. In 2024 alone, federal agencies identified multiple cases of improper overpayments, totaling over $135 billion. While some of this money will ultimately be recovered, much of it will inevitably remain wasted at taxpayer expense. Such overpayments occur every year, despite rigorous controls and oversight mechanisms. As Elon Musk’s brief and tumultuous stint at the head of the Department of Government Efficiency suggests, eliminating wasteful government spending is more difficult than it may appear.

15. Corporation for National and Community Service

• Overpayments made in fiscal 2024: $10.6 million (1.7% of agency spending)
• Responsibility for overpayments in fiscal 2024: 0.0% within agency control; 100% outside of agency control
• Overpayments recovered in fiscal 2024: $810,000
• Total agency spending in fiscal 2024: $608.8 million
• Sub-agencies/programs overspending in fiscal 2024 include: AmeriCorps State and National, The Foster Grandparent Program

14. Environmental Protection Agency

• Overpayments made in fiscal 2024: $13.2 million (0.8% of agency spending)
• Responsibility for overpayments in fiscal 2024: 0.0% within agency control; 100% outside of agency control
• Overpayments recovered in fiscal 2024: $5.6 million
• Total agency spending in fiscal 2024: $1.7 billion
• Sub-agencies/programs overspending in fiscal 2024 include: Grants

13. Federal Communications Commission

• Overpayments made in fiscal 2024: $133.2 million (2.6% of agency spending)
• Responsibility for overpayments in fiscal 2024: 50.2% within agency control; 49.8% outside of agency control
• Overpayments recovered in fiscal 2024: $66.4 million
• Total agency spending in fiscal 2024: $5.1 billion
• Sub-agencies/programs overspending in fiscal 2024 include: High Cost Legacy, Lifeline, Schools and Libraries

12. Department of Defense

• Overpayments made in fiscal 2024: $180.7 million (0.1% of agency spending)
• Responsibility for overpayments in fiscal 2024: 100% within agency control; 0.0% outside of agency control
• Overpayments recovered in fiscal 2024: $1.7 billion
• Total agency spending in fiscal 2024: $256.0 billion
• Sub-agencies/programs overspending in fiscal 2024 include: Mechanization of Contract Administration Services, Defense Travel System, Military Pay Army, Civilian Pay

11. Department of Homeland Security

• Overpayments made in fiscal 2024: $188.8 million (0.5% of agency spending)
• Responsibility for overpayments in fiscal 2024: 100% within agency control; 0.0% outside of agency control
• Overpayments recovered in fiscal 2024: $25.4 million
• Total agency spending in fiscal 2024: $41.4 billion
• Sub-agencies/programs overspending in fiscal 2024 include: Federal Emergency Management Agency, Funeral Assistance

10. Office of Personnel Management

• Overpayments made in fiscal 2024: $243.7 million (0.2% of agency spending)
• Responsibility for overpayments in fiscal 2024: 100% within agency control; 0.0% outside of agency control
• Overpayments recovered in fiscal 2024: $247.4 million
• Total agency spending in fiscal 2024: $106.9 billion
• Sub-agencies/programs overspending in fiscal 2024 include: Federal Retirement Services

9. Department of Education

• Overpayments made in fiscal 2024: $541.7 million (0.3% of agency spending)
• Responsibility for overpayments in fiscal 2024: 81.0% within agency control; 19.0% outside of agency control
• Overpayments recovered in fiscal 2024: $329.1 million
• Total agency spending in fiscal 2024: $184.3 billion
• Sub-agencies/programs overspending in fiscal 2024 include: Federal Pell Grant Program, William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, Education Stabilization Fund

8. Department of Veterans Affairs

• Overpayments made in fiscal 2024: $1.1 billion (2.7% of agency spending)
• Responsibility for overpayments in fiscal 2024: 100% within agency control; 0.0% outside of agency control
• Overpayments recovered in fiscal 2024: $878.1 million
• Total agency spending in fiscal 2024: $40.5 billion
• Sub-agencies/programs overspending in fiscal 2024 include: VA Community Care, Pension, Purchased Long Term Services and Supports, Beneficiary Travel, Communications, Utilities, and Other Rent, Medical Care Contracts and Agreements

7. Department of Transportation

• Overpayments made in fiscal 2024: $1.2 billion (1.9% of agency spending)
• Responsibility for overpayments in fiscal 2024: 0.0% within agency control; 100% outside of agency control
• Overpayments recovered in fiscal 2024: $8.6 million
• Total agency spending in fiscal 2024: $64.2 billion
• Sub-agencies/programs overspending in fiscal 2024 include: Federal Highway Administration Highway Planning and Construction, Federal Transit Administration Transit Infrastructure Grants – COVID Relief Funds

6. Small Business Administration

• Overpayments made in fiscal 2024: $2.0 billion (3.1% of agency spending)
• Responsibility for overpayments in fiscal 2024: 100% within agency control; 0.0% outside of agency control
• Overpayments recovered in fiscal 2024: $1.4 million
• Total agency spending in fiscal 2024: $66.1 billion
• Sub-agencies/programs overspending in fiscal 2024 include: Paycheck Protection Program, 7(a) Loan Guarantees Purchases, Disaster Assistance Loans, Restaurant Revitalization Fund

5. Department of Labor

• Overpayments made in fiscal 2024: $5.0 billion (12.9% of agency spending)
• Responsibility for overpayments in fiscal 2024: 19.7% within agency control; 80.3% outside of agency control
• Overpayments recovered in fiscal 2024: $785.6 million
• Total agency spending in fiscal 2024: $38.8 billion
• Sub-agencies/programs overspending in fiscal 2024 include: Employment & Training Administration – Federal State Unemployment Insurance, Office of Workers’ Compensation – Federal Employees’ Compensation Act

4. Social Security Administration

• Overpayments made in fiscal 2024: $8.9 billion (0.6% of agency spending)
• Responsibility for overpayments in fiscal 2024: 13.5% within agency control; 86.5% outside of agency control
• Overpayments recovered in fiscal 2024: $4.9 billion
• Total agency spending in fiscal 2024: $1.4 trillion
• Sub-agencies/programs overspending in fiscal 2024 include: Supplemental Security Income, Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance

3. Department of Agriculture

• Overpayments made in fiscal 2024: $11.4 billion (7.6% of agency spending)
• Responsibility for overpayments in fiscal 2024: 1.8% within agency control; 98.2% outside of agency control
• Overpayments recovered in fiscal 2024: $378.8 million
• Total agency spending in fiscal 2024: $150.3 billion
• Sub-agencies/programs overspending in fiscal 2024 include: Food and Nutrition Service, Farm Service Agency, Risk Management Agency, Commodity Credit Corporation

2. Treasury Department

• Overpayments made in fiscal 2024: $21.5 billion (21.9% of agency spending)
• Responsibility for overpayments in fiscal 2024: 0.0% within agency control; 100% outside of agency control
• Overpayments recovered in fiscal 2024: $67.3 million
• Total agency spending in fiscal 2024: $98.0 billion
• Sub-agencies/programs overspending in fiscal 2024 include: Earned Income Tax Credit, Additional Child Tax Credit, American Opportunity Tax Credit, Refundable Premium Assistance Tax Credit

1. Department of Health and Human Services

• Overpayments made in fiscal 2024: $82.7 billion (5.2% of agency spending)
• Responsibility for overpayments in fiscal 2024: 0.3% within agency control; 99.7% outside of agency control
• Overpayments recovered in fiscal 2024: $12.8 billion
• Total agency spending in fiscal 2024: $1.6 trillion
• Sub-agencies/programs overspending in fiscal 2024 include: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Administration for Children and Families, Health Resources and Services Administration

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