Obama’s and Biden’s Tax Returns

On tax day the White House released the President and First Lady's 2009 federal and state income tax returns. The Obamas had an adjusted gross income of $5,505,409, almost $5,175,000 of which was business income from book sales, and paid $1,713,212 in taxes, for an effective tax rate of 31%. They did not owe any alternative minimum tax, which is typical of very high income earners. This is because the maximum regular marginal tax rate is higher than the 28% maximum AMT rate.

Tax laws allow Nobel Prize money that is donated to charities to be excluded from income, and the President took advantage of this provision to donate his $1.4 million Nobel Prize money to 10 different charities. The Obamas deducted an additional $329,100 in charitable contributions from their income. The Obamas were hit by the phase-out of itemized deductions and personal exemptions, losing about 9.5% of their itemized deductions and 1/3 of their personal exemptions.

The Obamas also paid $163,303 in Illinois income taxes, for an effective state income tax rate of just under 3%.

Vice President Biden's federal and state income tax returns were also released. The Bidens had an adjusted gross income of $333,183, federal income tax liability of $71,147, state income tax liabilities of $12,420 in Delaware and $1,477 in Virginia, and charitable deductions of $4,820. The Bidens had a $5,829 alternative minimum tax liability. Their tax liability also included $709 of household employment tax.

This is just a summary. Spend some time looking through the their tax returns, you might find something interesting.