Biden releases tax return, reports paying 24.6 percent rate

 

President Joe Biden and his wife paid $150,439 in federal income taxes on $610,702 in 2021 earnings, they said in a tax return released Friday.

 

That translates into an effective rate of 24.6 percent.

 

The Bidens also reported giving $17,394 to charity.

 

The release comes before the April 18 filing deadline, and it marks a continuation of what had been a decades-old tradition of presidents voluntarily releasing their tax returns that had been broken by former President Donald Trump.

 

The administration said the release demonstrates the president's “commitment to being transparent with the American people about the finances of the commander in chief.”

 

The bulk of the Bidens’ earnings came from his presidential salary, which, at $378,333, was reduced from the customary $400,000 to account for him coming into office last year on Jan. 20.

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Another $62,000 came from royalties from books published before the administration began. They reported $53,000 in pension benefits, owed from his service in Congress, and $46,000 in Social Security benefits.

They were dinged by a pair of surcharges on the well-to-do, to the tune of about $2,000, that were imposed as part of the Affordable Care Act, which Biden helped push into law.

 

They were also hit by the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions imposed by Republicans as part of the 2017 tax cuts.

 

The Bidens gave to 10 organizations, with the most — $5,000 — going to the Beau Biden Foundation, named after their son. They also gave to the Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Westminster Presbyterian Church and St. Joseph on the Brandywine, among others.

 

The Bidens did not get a tax refund, owing $1,752 on their return.

 

Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband reported paying $523,371 in federal taxes on $1,655,563 in income. That’s an effective rate of 31.6 percent.

 

They gave $22,100 to charity.