President Biden and Vice President Harris release their 2021 tax returns

By MJ Lee and Kaitlan Collins, CNN

The White House released President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ tax returns on Friday, showing that the first couple earned more than $600,000 and the second couple made over $1.6 million in 2021.

The President and first lady Jill Biden paid $150,439 in federal income taxes at an effective federal income tax rate of 24.6%. They also donated a little more than $17,000 — or about 2.85% of their income — to 10 different charities. That’s down slightly from 2020, when the Bidens donated about 5% of their income.

Of the various charitable donations, the biggest sum was $5,000, given to the Beau Biden Foundation. The charity, named after the President’s late son, is aimed at protecting children from abuse. Other organizations that the couple gave to include the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, a group that offers support to grieving military families, as well as St. Joseph on the Brandywine, a Catholic church that the Bidens attend in Wilmington, Delaware.

This year the Bidens earned $62,000 in income from two S corporations, CelticCapri Corp. and Giacoppa Corp. According to a White House official, that amount represents royalties from their previous publications, which are received through the corporations created for their speaking and writing engagements.

The Bidens’ previous joint tax return from 2020 showed they reported a federal adjusted gross income of $607,336 and owed $157,414 in federal income tax.

The Bidens saw a significant drop in income in 2020 — when Biden ran for president, vacated his post at the University of Pennsylvania and participated in fewer speaking engagements. In 2019, the Bidens reported an adjusted gross income of about $985,000.

Friday’s release of the tax returns comes three days before Monday’s official tax filing deadline in the United States.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff’s returns show they earned more than $1.6 million in 2021. They paid $523,371 in federal income tax at an effective federal income tax rate of 31.6%. Together they donated $22,100 to charity in 2021, or about 1.3% of their income.

Specifically, they gave cash contributions of $5,000 to three of their alma maters in 2021: the CSUN (California State University, Northridge) Arts and Communications Fund, Howard University and the University of Southern California.

The second couple’s adjusted gross income is roughly on par with their 2020 return, when they reported $1,695,225 in AGI and owed $621,893 in taxes.

By releasing their returns once again, the Biden administration has restored a practice dating back to President Richard Nixon that was interrupted while Donald Trump was in office. Trump declined to release his tax returns, repeatedly claiming he was under audit. According to the IRS, every president and vice president is guaranteed an audit every year since the Watergate era.

“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,” the White House said in a statement alongside the release of the latest tax returns, adding that Harris has now published 18 years of her tax returns.

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CNN’s Maegan Vazquez contributed to this report.