What the Iran war has cost the U.S.
By the Pentagon's own count, $43.6 billion through September 3. The U.S. naval blockade of Iran is still running, so the bill is still growing.
Until October 13, 2026, this site showed $113.3 billion. That figure came from a formula: the Pentagon's $11.3B for the first six days, then an assumed $1 billion a day, a rate congressional officials floated in early March at the height of the air campaign. The official count never came close: $33.4B by June 29 by the Pentagon's own tally, and $38.1B through August 1 by CBO's independent estimate.
We now track the official numbers and show separately what they leave out. The war also didn't end on June 16: the U.S. reimposed a naval blockade on July 14, and costs are still accruing. Read the full revision note →
Official tallies vs. the formula we used
Each dot is a cost figure given to Congress or published by its budget office. The red line is the formula this site used until Oct 13.
Show as a table
| As of | Source | Cumulative |
|---|
Where the money went
About two-thirds of the Pentagon's figure is the cost of replacing munitions fired, led by the interceptors used against Iranian missiles and drones. Most of it hasn't been paid for yet: Congress had not passed a war supplemental as of mid-October.
What the official count leaves out
The Pentagon's figure covers incremental military spending. It excludes damage to U.S. bases and the interest on borrowing to pay for the war, and Americans pay a separate bill at the pump. These bars measure different things, so they don't add up into one total.
Show as a table
| Estimate | Source | Amount |
|---|
Choose what counts
There's no single right total; it depends on which costs you include. The official count is always on. Tick the others to add them.
Per household uses 131M U.S. households.
Gas: AAA national average $4.41 on Oct 1, up from $2.96 before the war. September 2026 averaged $4.33, a record for the month.
Lives lost
The war didn't end in June
- CBO letter to Rep. Boyle (Sep 15): $38.1B through Aug 1, $2–3B/month ongoing
- Pentagon estimate to Congress (Sep 18): $43.6B through Sep 3
This tracker started on the first day of strikes to give the public a running count instead of an accounting years later. It now follows the government's own figures and is plain about what they exclude. Corrections: see the revision note.