How does Trump’s $750 federal income tax payment compare to average Americans?
President Donald Trump paid $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017, according to a report from The New York Times.
Tax return information for Trump and his businesses was obtained by The New York Times and released in a Sunday report. Trump has refused to release his tax returns and in July, the Supreme Court allowed the Manhattan district attorney to expedite an order to deny Trump’s claim that he has immunity from subpoenas, The Hill reported.
The Times report said Trump paid $750 in federal income taxes the same year he was elected president and his first year in office. Trump reportedly didn’t pay income taxes in 10 of the last 15 years because “he reported losing much more money than he made,” according to Times.
Trump paid $95 million in taxes over 18 years but his finances have been the subject of an audit by the Internal Revenue Service for the $72.9 million tax refund he received, according to the report. Trump also got $21.2 million in local and state refunds.
The average taxpayer in the top 00.1% paid around $25 million a year in the same time, according to The Associated Press.
Trump called the Times story “fake news” in a White House news briefing and said he would release his tax returns after the audit is completed, a promise he has made since 2016.
“I’ve paid a lot, and I paid a lot in state income taxes, too,” Trump said. “New York state charges a lot. And I’ve paid a lot of money in state.”
How much do average Americans pay in federal income taxes?
Experts say Trump likely paid much less in federal income taxes than the average American.
“His income tax burden is certainly much lower than the average taxpayer,” Brian Galle, a law professor and tax expert at Georgetown Law, told The Washington Post. “He’s likely paying less than the shoeshine guy who works in the foyer of the Trump Tower.”
Federal income tax is determined by seven tax rates from 10% to 37% in 2020. The tax rates are applied to taxable income and increase based on a person’s income. In 2020, the top rate applies to those who have $518,400 in taxable income for single filers and $622,050 for joint filers.
IRS data on individual tax rates for 2017 found the top 1% of taxpayers paid an average rate of 26.76% for federal income taxes. The rest of taxpayers, the bottom 99%, paid an average of 11.4% and the bottom 50% of taxpayers paid an average rate of 4%.
The top federal income tax rate has changed over time and was 39.6% in 2012. In 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — signed by Trump — lowered the rate to 37% beginning in 2018.
The middle 20% of households paid an average of $2,200 in federal taxes in 2016, according to The Washington Post, citing the Congressional Budget Office. Those households earned an average of around $60,000 that year.
Ernie Tedeschi, an economist who served in President Barack Obama’s Treasury Department, told the publication that Trump’s federal taxes are less than that of the families who earned between $40,000 and $50,000 a year.
“The outrage is that what he paid in federal income tax is right in the middle of American families and is clearly living a lifestyle that is not in the middle of American families. It’s at the very upper echelon,” Tedeschi told the Post. “And that strikes people as unfair.”
This story was originally published September 28, 2020 at 10:04 AM with the headline "How does Trump’s $750 federal income tax payment compare to average Americans?."