The historical tables included in the President’s budget statutorily required budget submission cover budget deficit/surplus, outlays, receipts, discretionary and mandatory spending, federal debt, federal employment, payments for individuals, spending by function and agency, and grants to states and local governments. These tables provide data from 1940 (in some cases before) and estimates usually for a ten year period starting with the year for which the budget is required to be submitted. Historical data are adjusted by OMB to be consistent with data in the that year and to provide comparability over time.

The President’s Budget, required by law to be submitted to Congress, takes the form of four volumes: the Budget of the U.S. Government, Historical Tables, Analytical Perspectives, and the Appendix. In addition to these main four documents, Supplemental Materials are also transmitted to Congress and made public. Then in July of each year, and update to this budget is sent to Congress, commonly known as the the Mid-Session Review for a fiscal year.