2001 is when we invaded Afghanistan. That war is included in the first total.

You're right on the expenditure point. True tax cuts on people who pay taxes - letting them keep their own money - should not be considered an expenditure. But most of that $288 billion were tax credits which could (and often do) go to people who pay little or no taxes in the first place. To get an accurate count would require detailed analysis of how many people were getting their own money back or getting some other taxpayers money back.

But I agree that under any such analysis it's likely the total actual spending amount would come to less than $787 billion.