Politics & Finances

Donald Trump Paid Fewer Taxes Than Americans Making $20,000 a Year

Donald Trump Paid Fewer Taxes Than Americans Making $20,000 a Year

Former President Donald Trump, who is worth billions of dollars, paid fewer taxes than Americans earning under $20,000 per year.

According to data from The New York Times, Trump paid a grand total of $750 in personal income taxes in 2016 and 2017. The average household making approximately $20,000 per year paid $819 in income taxes, per the outlet. 

The IRS notes that American taxpayers who fall into the $50,000 and $75,000 tax bracket paid an average income tax of $5,077 in 2017.

This is, of course, significantly more than billionaire Trump paid.

Now, Yahoo! Finance has shared details about how the controversial former POTUS may have paid so little:

Real estate offers some unique tax advantages, mainly the ability to write off depreciation against income. It’s common for a real estate investor to show a loss on their income tax return while receiving positive cash flow for the year.

Fractional real estate investors also receive similar benefits. The investment platform Arrived Homes, known for letting investors buy shares of rental properties with as little as $100, paid out $47,000 in dividends to investors in 2021, but only about $2,800 was considered taxable income. The rest was nontaxable return of principal.

It. is likely that Trump received tax breaks on his numerous real estate holdings. Furthermore, the news website points out that "[another reason for] Trump’s low tax bills is the use of a tax loss carryforward. Companies such as The Trump Organization can carry losses over from one year to offset taxes in subsequent years."

In this case, Trump's nearly $1 billion in losses in the early 1990s were carried over through 2005.

Recently, a federal court ruled that the the U.S. Department of Justice can lift a hold on documents obtained during the FBI's August 8 raid of Trump's Mar-a-Lago property.  This news comes soon after Trump returned to his Florida residence.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, in fact, specifically addressed Mar-a-Lago in her comments the State of New York's $250 million fraud lawsuit against the businessman, saying that the property "generated less than $25 million in annual revenue. It should have been valued at about $75 million, but it was valued at $739 million.”

Furthermore, this new ruling comes on the heels of the Department of Justice releasing a 36-page report relating to the now-infamous occurrence at Trump's Florida home. In the document, the DoJ confirms that Trump "likely obstructed" a government investigation with intent.

Following the release of the report, Trump retained former Florida solicitor Chris Kise, who has close ties to both Governor Ron DeSantis (R) and Senator Rick Scott (R).

Previously, the Washington Post reported that the FBI executed its search warrant after "federal authorities grew increasingly concerned that Trump or his lawyers and aides had not, in fact, returned all the documents and other material that were government property, according to people familiar with the discussions."

Trump has reportedly threatened to cause "big problems" if he is indicted, which seems to be increasingly likely by the day.

It is important to note that the legal issues outlined here are not directly connected to the ongoing election probe in Georgia or the Allen Weisselberg plea deal.

What do you think about Trump's low tax bill?

You Might Also Enjoy:

share this post
Search for matches...
Rebekah Barton

Rebekah Barton

Rebekah's search engine optimization career began completely by accident as a college student. Over the course of her career so far, she has "grown up" with the SEO industry, from writing content while juggling classes to managing her own teams of writers and overseeing SEO strategy in subsequent roles. She is excited to bring her passion for high-quality content to CountingWorks, Inc.

Recommended Professionals

In the face of economic uncertainty, TaxBuzz is the industry's most up-to-date tax information.

Join 60,000 who get our weekly newsletter. No spam.

Need help selecting a firm?

Use our specialized search engine and get matched to the best accounting and tax firm for your needs.

Related Posts

Latest Posts