16th April, 2022
US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden have released their tax returns for 2021 on Friday, claiming a total income of $610,702 for the year.
They paid $150,439 in federal income taxes, $30,765 in state taxes to Delaware, and $2,721 in income taxes for Virginia, where Jill Biden teaches at Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA).
The Bidens’ reported income was similar to that claimed in 2020, when they also claimed to have made just over $600,000.
The president’s salary is $400,000, plus an expense account of approximately $50,000, as set by Congress.
They were taxed at a rate of 24.6%.
Entering the White House appears to have taken a bite out of their earning capacity, as they had reported an income of $985,223 in 2019.
Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Douglas Emhoff also released their taxes, revealing an income of $1.7 million on which they reportedly paid $523,371 in federal income taxes, a rate of 31.6%.
Biden praised his own transparency in a statement released on Friday, declaring “the president has shared a total of 24 years of tax returns with the American public, once again demonstrating his commitment to being transparent with the American people about the finances of the commander in chief.”
A presidential tradition of releasing tax returns dates back to Richard Nixon, as does a tradition of auditing the president.
Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump did not release his returns, claiming they could not be made public because he was already being audited.
Trump also donated his entire presidential salary while in office.