Biden Paid $4.1 Million More in Federal Taxes Than Trump Over 6 Years

Six years worth of Donald Trump's federal tax returns were released Friday, sharing a long-veiled glimpse into the former president's complex finances.

The release comes after a controversial vote by the House Ways and Means Committee earlier this month, in which the committee voted to make Trump's federal tax returns public. Trump refused to voluntarily release the federal returns during his campaign and his presidency, citing an ongoing Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audit. But the IRS didn't audit Trump until 2019 when Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, a Democrat, requested the returns.

Public tax returns for the sitting president again became normal when President Joe Biden took office in 2021. Biden has released more than 20 years of federal tax returns that are available for public viewing at various places online, including returns for his years as vice president from 2009 to 2017 under then-President Barack Obama and for the two years he served as President.

When Trump and Biden's federal tax returns from 2015 to 2020 are shared side by side, Biden paid $4.1 million more in taxes than Trump did. The records show a stark contrast between Biden's and Trump's tax returns, highlighting the complexity of the latter's finances that could have hindered the IRS's ability to audit Trump.

Comparing Biden's and Trump's Tax Returns

Biden's Tax Returns

A side-by-side comparison of the tax returns for the former President and the current President isn't black and white.

Overall, between 2015 and 2020, Biden paid at least 23 percent in net tax, according to his federal tax returns. His federal tax returns appear rather straightforward, showing the President making money each year and paying taxes on that money. However, Trump's returns are much more complex and scattered. Sometimes, Trump gained millions, and in other years, he lost substantially more. His taxes also have varied widely, with the former President paying $999,466 in 2018 to paying nothing in 2020.

Trump's now-public returns show data from 2015 to 2020. In 2015, Biden was still serving as vice president to Obama, and his returns show a total income of more than $392,000. Biden's net tax was more than $91,000, roughly a 23 percent rate of his income.

For the next five years, Biden's taxes continue in a regular fashion, save for a two-year stint in which his income leaped from more than $396,000 in 2016 to more than $11 million in 2017 and more than $4.5 million in 2018. More than $10 million of his income in 2017 was from a line item including royalties. Biden published his bestselling memoir Promise Me, Dad that same year.

From 2017 to 2018, Biden's taxes leaped as well. In 2017, he paid more than $3.7 million in taxes, and in 2018, he paid more than $1.5 million.

In 2019, his income again dipped to less than $1 million, and he paid nearly $300,000 in taxes. In 2020, Biden reported a total income of $607,336 and paid a net tax of more than $157,000.

Trump's Tax Returns

Over the same six-year period, Trump's tax returns jump from loss to gain rather haphazardly. In 2015, Trump's federal tax returns show him reporting a loss of $31,736,841, but he still paid $641,931 in taxes despite nearly $1.5 million in tax credits, largely because of the alternative minimum tax, which prevents high-income taxpayers from reducing their tax payable below a fair amount.

Trump's personal returns show the former President lost money in 2016 and 2017 as well, marking his total income as -$32,190,169 in 2016 and -$12,819,400 in 2017. Both years he only paid $750 in net taxes.

In 2018, Trump began his second year in office. His personal federal tax returns show a total income of $24,395,093. He paid $999,466 in net tax, only 4 percent of his reported total income. In 2019, the first year the IRS audited him, Trump reported his income as $4,443,503 and paid a net tax of $133,445, only 3 percent of his reported total income. In 2020, the former president's income dipped back into a loss, with Trump reporting -$4,694,058 on his returns and paid a net tax of $0.

However, IRS Enrolled Agent Ryan Ellis told Newsweek in an email there are myriad reasons someone may pay less taxes. Some of those avenues include business tax credits and deductions, both of which Trump utilized.

"[Business tax credits] are tax credits Congress created for businesses engaged in various activities, none of which have ever been particularly controversial--Trump just did a lot of them," Ellis told Newsweek in an email.

Trump has fought the public release of his federal taxes, but on Friday, he touted his business expertise as proof of his success on Truth Social.

"The 'Trump' tax returns once again show how proudly successful I have been and how I have been able to use depreciation and various other tax deductions as an incentive for creating thousands of jobs and magnificent structures and enterprises," the press release published on Trump's Truth Social said.

From 2015 to 2020, Trump paid $1,776,342 in taxes while Biden paid $5,914,579. Trump earned $28,838,596 in the two years he reported positive income and Biden made $17,999,610 over the entire six years.

Newsweek reached out to the Tax Policy Center and Trump's campaign for comment.

Update 12/30/22 4:57 p.m.: This article was updated with comment from Ryan Ellis.