President Biden earned $620,000 in 2023 and paid 23.7% in federal income taxes, returns show
WASHINGTON ― President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden paid $146,629 in federal income taxes in 2023 after reporting income of $619,976, according to their joint tax return released Monday to mark the federal tax-filing deadline.
The first couple paid an effective federal tax rate of 23.7%.
It marks the 26th year that Biden has released federal tax returns during his public life. Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presumptive nominee, is again declining to release his latest federal tax returns after he broke from the bipartisan tradition of presidents disclosing the documents.
"Once again demonstrating his commitment to being transparent with the American people, President Biden has released the most tax returns of any commander-in-chief while in office," the White House said in a statement.
"President Biden believes that all occupants of the Oval Office should be open and honest with the American people, and that the longstanding tradition of annually releasing presidential tax returns should continue unbroken."
The Bidens' joint income in 2023 was more than the $579,514 they reported for 2022.
Biden's presidential salary is $400,000. Jill Biden reported earning $85,985 from Northern Virginia Community College, where she teaches. The Bidens collected $129,876 in taxable interest, pensions and annuities, Social Security benefits, and IRA distributions − significantly more than in 2022, producing the spike in income. Jill Biden also reported $4,115 in royalties from prior book publications.
The Bidens reported charitable contributions totaling $20,477 to 17 charities including $5,000 to the Beau Biden Foundation, named for the Bidens' late son.
The first couple also paid $30,908 in Delaware income tax, while Jill Biden reported paying $3,549 taxes in Virginia.
Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff reported paying $88,570 in federal income tax in 2023, amounting to an effective 19.7% federal tax rate, after earning income of $450,299. The second couple reported donating $23,026 to charities.
Although Trump has not released past tax returns willingly, House Democrats in 2022 released six years of Trump's tax returns for the time he was president and campaigned for the presidency, from 2015 to 2020. The House Ways and Means Committee, then under control of Democrats, used oversight powers to obtain the documents from the Internal Revenue Service.
The Joint Committee on Taxation, staffed with tax experts, found Trump paid only $1.1 million in federal income taxes during the first three years of his presidency and paid no federal tax in 2020 – the year that he claimed a loss of $4.8 million.
"President Trump has released more information to the American public about his personal finances than any candidate in history," Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement when asked whether Trump will make his 2023 tax returns public.
Leavitt added that Trump's past tax returns were "illegally leaked by the IRS and his successful family business has been the target of endless investigations led by Joe Biden and Democrat prosecutors."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bidens earned $620,000 in 2023, paid 23.7% in federal income taxes
