By Trevor Hunnicutt
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden and his wife Jill released their federal tax return on Tuesday, showing the couple earned nearly $580,000 last year and paid an effective federal income tax rate of 23.8%.
The Bidens also donated roughly 3.5% of their income, or $20,180, to 20 charities, including one associated with U.S. police unions.
The annual disclosure ahead of the deadline at midnight Tuesday for most Americans to file their tax returns comes before a 2024 presidential race in which Biden is expected to seek a second four-year term.
Such a contest could set up a re-run of the 2020 presidential election between Biden, a Democrat, and Republican former President Donald Trump. In contrast to Republicans, Biden has proposed higher taxes on corporations and individuals making over $400,000 per year.
Trump broke with the tradition of presidents making their federal tax returns public, saying he was not able to do so while being audited by the Internal Revenue Service, even as the agency claimed he was free to release them.
The Bidens reported 2022 federal adjusted gross income of $579,514 and paid $137,658 in federal income tax. The previous year, Biden's first as president, they reported $610,702 in income.
Biden draws a $400,000 wage as president of the United States. Jill Biden earned $82,335 from her job teaching English at Northern Virginia Community College.
The remainder of their income is drawn from investment interest, pensions, annuities, distributions from retirement accounts and Social Security as well as a corporation that collects their book royalties, according to the joint tax return.
Their charitable donations included contributions to churches and organizations focused on helping children and first responders, including $2,000 to the National Fraternal Order of Police Foundation.
The National Fraternal Order of Police, the biggest U.S. officers' union, endorsed Trump in 2020 and has opposed many of Biden's proposed reforms in the aftermath of George Floyd's 2020 murder in the custody of a former Minneapolis police officer.
Their charitable organization, the National Fraternal Order of Police Foundation, holds an annual memorial service for law enforcement officials who die in the line of duty, which Biden has addressed as president.
"The National Fraternal Order of Police Foundation does important work serving the families of officers who have given their lives in the line of duty," said White House spokesperson Andrew Bates. "President Biden recognizes the sacrifices made by fallen officers and their families, including when he speaks at the National Peace Officers' Memorial Service."
Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, reported federal adjusted gross income of $456,918, paying $93,570 in federal income tax for an effective federal income tax rate of 20.5%.
The income included $219,171 in salary paid to Harris by the U.S. Senate, $62,870 from her books and $169,665 earned by Emhoff at Georgetown University Law Center, where he teaches. They contributed roughly 5% of their income, or $23,000, to charity, according to the joint return.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Chris Reese and Cynthia Osterman)
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