Biden, Harris release 2020 tax returns

President Biden and Vice President Harris on Monday released their 2020 tax returns, which reflect their income from the last year before they were inaugurated.

The release of their tax returns, which came on the tax-filing deadline, follows four years in which former President Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence broke with precedent and did not disclose their returns at any point while in office.

The president and first lady Jill Biden reported adjusted gross income of $607,336. They reported paying $157,414 in federal income taxes, for an effective tax rate of 25.9 percent. 

The Bidens’ income was lower in 2020 than it was the previous year. Their 2019 tax return reported adjusted gross income of $985,233 and a total tax of $299,346.

Much of the Bidens’ income in 2020 came from Giacoppa Corp., an entity Jill Biden uses for book payments and speaking engagements, as well as from pensions and annuities. Their income also included nearly $13,000 in income from Jill Biden’s work at Northern Virginia Community College, according to the tax papers.

The Bidens’ 2020 tax return reported $30,704 in charitable donations, about 5.1 percent of their adjusted gross income. Their biggest contribution, of $10,000, was to the Beau Biden Foundation, which works to help prevent child abuse.

Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff reported on their 2020 federal tax return adjusted gross income of $1,695,225 and total taxes of $621,893, for an effective tax rate of 36.7 percent. 

The bulk of their income came from Emhoff’s work as an attorney. Their income also included Harris’s salary as a U.S. senator and income she received from her books.

Harris and Emhoff reported about $27,000 in charitable contributions on their 2020 tax return.

The couple’s income in 2020 was significantly lower than it was in 2019. Their federal tax return for 2019 reported adjusted gross income of more than $3 million.

The president and vice president on Monday also released financial disclosure reports.

Joe Biden’s financial disclosure forms showed he and Jill Biden have up to $1.8 million in assets held across multiple banks and credit unions. That figure is a decrease from the $3.2 million they reported in their 2020 disclosures.

Joe Biden’s disclosure indicated that his S corporation, CelticCapri Corp., holds only up to $15,000 in assets and that it will remain dormant while he is in office other than to collect royalties should his memoirs be reissued.

The vice president reported in her financial disclosure forms that she received a combined $360,000 in advances for her memoir, “The Truths We Hold,” which she released in early 2019, around the time she launched her presidential campaign.

Harris and Emhoff reported having between $3.1 million and $7 million in assets. Much of Emhoff’s reported earnings and investments are tied to his time working as a lawyer for DLA Piper, a firm he left after the November election.

Emhoff has between $600,000 and $1.25 million in assets in DLA Piper-related accounts, according to his financial disclosure.

“Neither the President nor the Vice President have any conflicts of interest,” the White House said in releasing the financial disclosure forms.

The White House noted Monday’s release meant Biden had shared a total of 23 years of tax returns with the American public, a swipe at Trump, who refused to release his tax returns during the 2016 campaign or his four years in office. Trump claimed his returns were under audit, though officials said that did not preclude him from making the documents public.

It is IRS policy for presidents and vice presidents to be audited. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that audits wouldn’t discourage Biden from releasing his tax returns.

“I would expect that we will continue to release the president’s tax returns, as should be expected by every president of the United States,” she said.

The release of the president’s and vice president’s tax returns also comes as Biden has proposed raising taxes on high-income individuals and businesses in order to pay for his infrastructure proposals. Biden has said he would raise taxes only on those making more than $400,000, a threshold both he and Harris exceeded in 2020.