Trump Paid $0 In Taxes In 2020—Here’s What To Know About His Tax Returns

Trump paid more than $1 million in federal income taxes during his time in the Oval Office, but only during the first three years, according to documents released by the House Ways and Means Committee.

As a presidential candidate in 2016 and as president in 2017 he paid$750 each year in net federal taxes.

In 2018, he reported $24.3 million in gross income—nearly double what he made the year before ($12.9 million).

PROMOTED

He paid significantly more in 2018 ($999,466) and 2019 ($144,445).

In 2020, the documents show Trump reported a loss of $4.8 million and no income taxes paid, as the economy was crippled by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The documents include tax returns from Trump as well as eight other entities, including real estate holdings, the Delaware-based LFB Acquisitions LLC and Lamington Farm Club (Trump National Golf Club-Bedminster).

Forbes will continue to update this post as more information is released.

Last month, the IRS provided six years of the former president’s tax returns to the House Ways and Means Committee, which had been requesting the returns representing Trump’s time as a candidate and president, as part of its inquiry into how the IRS conducts audits on presidential tax returns. The Democrat-led committee met on Tuesday to deliberate turning over the documents in what was possibly its last chance to release the records before Republicans take control of the chamber and its committees in January. It came after the Supreme Court denied a request from Trump’s attorneys to block efforts to keep the returns private. Trump, who announced his 2024 presidential campaign last month, had argued that turning over the documents would “undermine the separation of powers” and claimed that House members’ true intention was to make them public rather than using them as part of an internal audit. In 2020, however, the New York Times obtained a copy of his tax returns, not only revealing that he paid $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017, but that he paid no income taxes in 10 of the previous 15 years after he reported financial losses in those years.

CONTRA

The release of Trump’s tax returns comes as the House Ways and Means Committee issued a report claiming the IRS did not properly audit Trump during his first two years in office, something it’s required to do for all sitting presidents. According to the House report, the IRS had only started an audit two years into Trump’s presidency and had not completed any while he was in office, with Committee Chair Richard Neal (D-Mass.) calling the audit program “dormant.”

CHIEF CRITIC

In response to the House committee’s report, Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) accused the IRS of being “asleep at the wheel” and said its presidential audit system is “broken.” In a statement, Wyden said, “There is no justification for the failure to conduct the required presidential audits until a congressional inquiry was made.