Bidens paid 24.6% taxes on $610,702 earnings, returns show

Apr 15, 2022, 9:24 AM | Updated: 9:27 pm
President Joe Biden speaks at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, in Greens...

President Joe Biden speaks at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, in Greensboro, N.C., on April 14, 2022. Biden plans to nominate Michael Barr  to be the Federal Reserve's vice chairman of supervision. The selection of Barr comes after Biden's first choice for the Fed post, Sarah Bloom Raskin, withdrew her nomination a month ago (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, earned $610,702 during their first year in the White House and paid $150,439 in federal income taxes. That was a tax rate of 24.6% for 2021, well over the average of around 14% for all Americans.

The totals were similar to the Bidens’ 2020 returns, when they reported earning $607,336 as he ran for president. They reported a federal income tax rate of 25.9% then.

The national median household income was $67,521 in 2020, according to U.S. Census data.

It’s the second straight year Biden has released his tax returns from the White House, reestablishing a tradition that presidents make their filings public after President Donald Trump declined to do so.

Both this year and last were steep drops from 2019 for the Bidens, when they earned nearly $1 million, primarily from book sales, speeches and their teaching positions at the University of Pennsylvania and Northern Virginia Community College.

Jill Biden still teaches in Virginia while serving as first lady. The returns show Biden earning $378,333 as president — his $400,000 annual salary minus the time before noon on Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, 2021 — and his wife receiving $67,116 for her teaching.

The couple gave $17,394 to 10 different charities in 2021. The largest gift was $5,000 to the Beau Biden Foundation, a nonprofit that works to combat child abuse named for their son, Beau, who died of brain cancer in 2015 at age 46.

The Bidens also released their 2021 Delaware income tax return and reported paying $30,765 in state income tax there. The first lady released a Virginia return showing she paid $2,721 in Virginia state income tax.

Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, released their 2021 tax filings, which showed them earning $1,655,563 in 2021 and paying $523,371 — a federal income tax rate of 31.6%. Harris and Emhoff also paid $120,517 in California income tax and $2,044 in New York income tax.

The second gentleman, who teaches at Georgetown Law School, paid $54,441 in District of Columbia income tax, and the couple contributed $22,100 to charity in 2021.

Biden campaigned on the transparency of his personal finances, releasing 22 years of tax filings ahead of the 2020 election. It was a direct challenge to Trump, who argued for years that an audit prevented him from releasing his taxes — though the IRS had mandated for four-plus decades that the tax returns of sitting presidents and vice presidents be audited.

The New York Times later obtained Trump’s tax records and reported that he paid just $750 in federal income taxes during his first year in the White House. IRS figures indicate that the average tax filer paid roughly $12,200 in 2017, about 16 times what the former president paid.

The returns were released on April 15, traditionally the deadline for paying federal taxes. This year the deadline has been extended to Monday, April 18.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

File - People shop at an Apple store in the Westfield Garden State Plaza mall in Paramus, New Jerse...
Associated Press

A key inflation gauge tracked by the Fed slowed in February

The Federal Reserve's favored inflation gauge slowed sharply last month, an encouraging sign in the Fed's yearlong effort to cool price pressures through steadily higher interest rates.
22 hours ago
FILE - The OpenAI logo is seen on a mobile phone in front of a computer screen displaying output fr...
Associated Press

Musk, scientists call for halt to AI race sparked by ChatGPT

Are tech companies moving too fast in rolling out powerful artificial intelligence technology that could one day outsmart humans?
2 days ago
starbucks...
Associated Press

Starbucks leader grilled by Senate over anti-union actions

Longtime Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz faced sharp questioning Wednesday before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee
3 days ago
FILE - The overdose-reversal drug Narcan is displayed during training for employees of the Public H...
Associated Press

FDA approves over-the-counter Narcan; here’s what it means

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved selling naloxone without a prescription, the first over-the-counter opioid treatment.
3 days ago
FILE - A Seattle police officer walks past tents used by people experiencing homelessness, March 11...
Associated Press

Seattle, feds seek to end most oversight of city’s police

  SEATTLE (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department and Seattle officials asked a judge Tuesday to end most federal oversight of the city’s police department, saying its sustained, decade-long reform efforts are a model for other cities whose law enforcement agencies face federal civil rights investigations. Seattle has overhauled virtually all aspects of its police […]
4 days ago
capital gains tax budgets...
Associated Press

Washington moves to end child sex abuse lawsuit time limits

People who were sexually abused as children in Washington state may soon be able to bring lawsuits against the state, schools or other institutions for failing to stop the abuse, no matter when it happened.
4 days ago

Sponsored Articles

Compassion International...

Brock Huard and Friends Rally Around The Fight for First Campaign

Professional athletes are teaming up to prevent infant mortality and empower women at risk in communities facing severe poverty.
Emergency Preparedness...

Prepare for the next disaster at the Emergency Preparedness Conference

Being prepared before the next emergency arrives is key to preserving businesses and organizations of many kinds.
SHIBA volunteer...

Volunteer to help people understand their Medicare options!

If you’re retired or getting ready to retire and looking for new ways to stay active, becoming a SHIBA volunteer could be for you!
safety from crime...

As crime increases, our safety measures must too

It's easy to be accused of fearmongering regarding crime, but Seattle residents might have good reason to be concerned for their safety.
Comcast Ready for Business Fund...
Ilona Lohrey | President and CEO, GSBA

GSBA is closing the disparity gap with Ready for Business Fund

GSBA, Comcast, and other partners are working to address disparities in access to financial resources with the Ready for Business fund.
SHIBA WA...

Medicare open enrollment is here and SHIBA can help!

The SHIBA program – part of the Office of the Insurance Commissioner – is ready to help with your Medicare open enrollment decisions.
Bidens paid 24.6% taxes on $610,702 earnings, returns show