Donald J. Trump paid $1.1 million in federal income tax in his first three years as president, after which he paid no taxes as his income dwindled again in 2020, according to tax figures released Tuesday by a House committee. increase again.
data, which includes the details of Mr. Trump’s federal tax returns from 2015 through his entire tenure in the White House show that he began his presidency with the kind of massive business loss he defined for most of his career, and paid almost nothing. income tax. But his fortunes changed in 2018, when he posted adjusted gross income of $24.3 million and paid nearly $1 million in federal taxes.
gentlemen. Trump’s tax returns showed he was also profitable the following year, reporting $4.4 million in income and paying $133,445 in taxes. But in 2020, as the country reeled from the coronavirus pandemic, its finances reversed: Mr. Trump reported a loss of $4.8 million and zero income taxes.
The fresh details of Mr. Trump’s taxes stem from two reports released Tuesday night by the House Ways and Means Committee, which has waged a legal battle to obtain records from the IRS that made it all the way to the Supreme Court. The report contains the commission’s summary of its findings, but does not include the original tax returns, which are expected to be released in the coming days.
New information adds public information about Mr. Trump’s income tax history, something he has worked hard to hide for years. Two years ago, The New York Times detailed more than two decades of Trump tax return data. Trump and the hundreds of companies that make up his business organization. These records tell a completely different story than the ones he sold to the American public.
His IRS filings paint a picture of a businessman who takes in hundreds of millions of dollars a year but accumulates chronic losses that he actively uses to avoid paying taxes. But while the personal income tax data analyzed by The Times covered only 2017, his first year in the White House, the information released Tuesday covers his entire presidency.
As The Times previously reported, Trump paid just $750 in federal income taxes and reported a $12.9 million loss in his first year as president, which is the same as reporting losses and paying little or no taxes. The long-term pattern of payments remains consistent. In 2018, his income suddenly exploded, in large part because he sold properties or investments for a $22 million gain, according to newly released figures. He also appears to have drained his business losses that roll over year after year to reduce taxable income. The exact source of the revenue increase was not clear in the report.
However, in 2020, Mr. Trump has resumed reporting losses. In fact, while capital gains boosted his profits in 2018, his entire core business — primarily real estate, golf courses and hotels — continued to lose money every year, totaling $60 million during his presidency. He was able to recover $5.47 million because he had earned millions of dollars in estimated taxes for which he ultimately owed no taxes.
Tuesday’s report also cast doubt on some of the gentlemen. Trump’s business practices, some of which the committee has asked the IRS to investigate further. Among them are his charitable contributions.
Tax records previously obtained by The Times show that Trump has made substantial charitable donations over the years, but the vast majority of them have come in the form of land donations, often after he has exhausted his efforts to develop land.
While in the White House, Mr. Trump made charitable contributions in the form of cash, which the House committee said warranted further investigation.
“We ask whether large cash donations are supported by the required evidence,” the report said.
The Times’ findings were cited several times in the report and helped shape the direction of the committee’s investigation.
For example, Mr. Trump owns an estate called Seven Springs in Westchester County, New York. For many years it was classified as a personal residence. In 2014, Trump reclassified the property as an investment property, according to 2020 tax records obtained by The Times.
Since then, he’s written off $2.2 million in property taxes as business expenses — even though the law only allows individuals to write off $10,000 a year in property taxes.
On Tuesday, the committee revealed that the IRS is studying the tax strategy.
The report also showed that Mr. Trump continues to collect substantial interest income, totaling $38.1 million during his presidency. They did not disclose the source of that income, but tax returns previously obtained by The Times show that by 2017 nearly all of his interest income came from his share of profits earned by a partnership controlled by Vornado Realty Trust.
The partnership owns two valuable office buildings: 1290 Sixth Avenue, Manhattan; and 555 California Street, San Francisco. gentlemen. Trump owns a 30% stake in the partnership but has no power over its management, and it has been his strongest asset.