WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama’s income fell to just over $436,000 in 2015, the lowest of his presidency, and he and first lady Michelle Obama paid nearly $81,500 in taxes, according to tax returns the White House released on Friday.
The president’s more modest adjusted gross income reflected book sales that have continued to fall off in the years since he last published in 2006. The first family paid an effective tax rate of 18.7 percent.
The Obamas also reported donating $64,000 to charity, or about 15 percent of their income. Their largest charitable donation, $9,000, went to the Fisher House Foundation, which assists wounded military members and their families.
The 45 pages of documentation, which also includes an Illinois state tax return, shows a presidential salary of about $395,000, plus another $61,000 in payments stemming from Obama’s two best-selling books. Last year, the couple reported making $94,889 from book sales — a sharp decline from the millions Obama made when book sales surged after his 2009 inauguration.
Obama and the first lady lowered their tax bill by claiming more than $145,000 in itemized deductions, including tax-deductible donations. They also paid $16,000 in state taxes in Illinois. Having overpaid the IRS, the Obamas will be receiving a refund of nearly $23,000.
Vice president Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, paid more than $91,500 in federal taxes last year on adjusted gross income of more than $392,000, for an effective rate of 23.3 percent. They paid smaller amounts in state taxes in Delaware, where they own a home, and in Virginia, where Jill Biden works as a community college professor.
