Presidential Tax Returns: Income, Tax Rates, & Charity Rates

Since the early 1970s, presidents and presidental candidates have voluntarily released their tax returns in order to provide transparency. Tax returns help answer questions like:

How much do they pay in taxes? Do they give to charity? Do they use tax loopholes? Do they keep money offshore? Are they financially beholden to other people or entities?

We hope the data below will give you insight into these questions across past presidents and candidates so that you can better evaluate current and future candidates.

President /
Candidate name
Years
of data
Charity rate - max Charity rate - avg Effective
tax rate
Combined tax +
charity rate
Average
income
Total charity Total taxes paid Total income
Ted Cruz 2 0% - 36.10% 36.10% $1,090,291 - $788,297.00 $2,180,582
Marco Rubio 2 0% - 25.87% 25.87% $453,682 - $240,339.00 $907,363
John Kasich 2 0% - 16.81% 16.81% $358,154 - $121,943.00 $716,308
John McCain 2 27.00% 26.51% 28.16% 54.66% $381,912 $202,225 $215,593 $763,823
George Bush 3 61.58% 26.16% 19.84% 46.00% $746,388 $895,666 $405,464 $2,239,163
Mitt Romney 2 16.42% 15.10% 14.01% 29.10% $17,685,476 $5,234,746 $4,945,474 $35,370,952
Carly Fiorina 2 14.86% 14.05% 19.47% 33.52% $1,655,372 $460,090 $659,060.00 $3,310,744
Hillary & Bill Clinton 24 56.47% 13.00% 27.21% 39.67% $10,172,277 $24,324,398 $76,930,730 $244,134,640
Jimmy Carter 3 20.21% 11.69% 31.10% 42.79% $217,890 $72,625 $205,307 $653,670
George W. & Laura Bush 8 17.70% 10.67% 27.08% 36.42% $826,147 $618,090 $1,789,841 $6,609,175
Barack & Michelle Obama 16 22.66% 8.13% 25.01% 33.14% $1,327,013 $1,651,180 $6,179,659 $21,232,202
Ronald Reagan 7 9.06% 5.42% 35.97% 40.62% $434,531 $121,957 $1,119,233 $3,041,719
Richard Nixon 3 10.99% 4.94% 22.44% 27.37% $264,551 $39,516 $178,690 $793,653
Bernie Sanders 1 4.06% 4.06% 13.45% 17.51% $205,617 $8,350 $27,653 $205,617
Gerald Ford 9 4.13% 3.09% 37.23% 40.32% $83,845 $23,747 $287,112 $754,609
New Gingrich 1 2.57% 2.57% 31.45% 34.02% $3,162,424 $81,133 $994,708 $3,162,424
Jeb Bush 14 5.47% 2.22% 24.60% 26.82% $1,749,071 $364,897 $8,653,815 $24,486,992
Rick Santorum 2 2.65% 2.20% 27.92% 30.12% $1,028,747 $46,111 $573,654 $2,057,493
Donald Trump ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Insights

Presidents with the highest charity rate in a year: #1 - George Bush, 62% #2 - Hillary & Bill Clinton, 56%
Presidents or candidates with the lowest tax rates: Mitt Romney (14%) & Bernie Sanders (13%)
Presidents or candidates w/ highest tax return transparency: Hillary Clinton (24 years) Barack Obama (16 years)
Over 24 years, Hillary & Bill Clinton have made $244m, given $24m to charity, and paid $77m in taxes
Unlike his father (40%) and brother (9.35%), Jeb Bush gave very little of his $24m in income to charity (1.49%)
Party Range Amount Average charity rate Average effective tax rate Average combined charity rate Average total income Total income
Democrat <$250k 6 5.96% 23.48% 29.44% $213,099 $1,278,592
$250k - $1m 17 12.80% 21.84% 33.89% $457,707 $7,781,016
>$1m 21 10.84% 30.84% 41.69% $12,246,025 $257,166,521
Democrat total 44 10.89% 26.36% 37.00% $6,050,594 $266,226,129
Republican <$250k 6 3.35% 15.71% 19.07% $162,340 $974,041
$250k - $1m 30 8.53% 27.39% 33.93% $539,535 $16,186,059
>$1m 14 10.27% 27.99% 37.52% $4,891,449 $68,480,291
Republican total 50 8.33% 26.16% 33.15% $1,712,808 $85,640,391
Grand total 94 9.63% 26.25% 34.96% $3,743,261 $351,866,520

Insights

Across all presidents and candidates, Democrats give to charity at a rate 31% higher than Republicans
Democrat presidential candidates give more to charity than Republicans across all income brackets
Name Party Type URL Year Total income Total tax Effective
tax rate
Gifts
to charity
Charity rate Income
bracket
Combined
charity rate
Years
of data
Hillary & Bill Clinton Democrat President Link 1992 $297,177 $70,228 23.63% $19,452 6.55% $250k - $1m 30.18% 1
Hillary & Bill Clinton Democrat President 1993 $293,757 $62,670 21.33% $17,000 5.79% $250k - $1m 27.12% 1
Hillary & Bill Clinton Democrat President Link 1994 $263,900 $55,313 20.96% $0 0.00% $250k - $1m 20.96% 1
Hillary & Bill Clinton Democrat President Link 1995 $316,074 $75,437 23.87% $30,310 9.59% $250k - $1m 33.46% 1
Hillary & Bill Clinton Democrat President Link 1996 $1,078,936 $199,791 18.52% $609,300 56.47% >$1m 74.99% 1
Hillary & Bill Clinton Democrat President Link 1997 $577,341 $91,964 15.93% $270,725 46.89% $250k - $1m 62.82% 1
Hillary & Bill Clinton Democrat President Link 1998 $509,345 $89,951 17.66% $99,220 19.48% $250k - $1m 37.14% 1
Hillary & Bill Clinton Democrat President Link 1999 $417,467 $92,104 22.06% $39,200 9.39% $250k - $1m 31.45% 1
Hillary & Bill Clinton Democrat President Link 2000 $357,629 $49,801 13.93% $34,900 9.76% $250k - $1m 23.68% 1
Hillary & Bill Clinton Democrat President Link 2001 $16,165,110 $6,008,474 37.17% $807,585 5.00% >$1m 42.17% 1
Hillary & Bill Clinton Democrat President Link 2002 $9,596,500 $3,613,688 37.66% $115,000 1.20% >$1m 38.85% 1
Hillary & Bill Clinton Democrat President Link 2003 $8,033,374 $2,537,420 31.59% $410,000 5.10% >$1m 36.69% 1
Hillary & Bill Clinton Democrat President Link 2004 $20,264,719 $6,222,373 30.71% $2,534,280 12.51% >$1m 43.21% 1
Hillary & Bill Clinton Democrat President Link 2005 $18,293,935 $5,569,166 30.44% $1,755,473 9.60% >$1m 40.04% 1
Hillary & Bill Clinton Democrat President Link 2006 $16,063,908 $4,682,585 29.15% $1,580,503 9.84% >$1m 38.99% 1
Hillary & Bill Clinton Democrat President Link 2007 $21,299,212 $5,237,115 24.59% $3,083,100 14.48% >$1m 39.06% 1
Hillary & Bill Clinton Democrat President Link 2008 $5,573,351 $1,679,017 30.13% $550,000 9.87% >$1m 39.99% 1
Hillary & Bill Clinton Democrat President Link 2009 $10,223,218 $3,072,192 30.05% $1,000,000 9.78% >$1m 39.83% 1
Hillary & Bill Clinton Democrat President Link 2010 $13,066,789 $4,072,190 31.16% $1,000,000 7.65% >$1m 38.82% 1
Hillary & Bill Clinton Democrat President Link 2011 $14,899,139 $4,336,068 29.10% $1,400,000 9.40% >$1m 38.50% 1
Hillary & Bill Clinton Democrat President Link 2012 $19,993,299 $5,910,304 29.56% $1,825,650 9.13% >$1m 38.69% 1
Hillary & Bill Clinton Democrat President Link 2013 $27,468,870 $9,597,074 34.94% $3,078,000 11.21% >$1m 46.14% 1
Hillary & Bill Clinton Democrat President Link 2014 $28,336,212 $9,981,350 35.22% $3,022,700 10.67% >$1m 45.89% 1
Hillary & Bill Clinton Democrat President 2015 $10,745,378 $3,624,455 33.73% $1,042,000 9.70% >$1m 43.43% 1
George W. and Laura Bush Republican President 2000 $894,880 $240,342 26.86% $0 0.00% $250k - $1m 26.86% 1
George W. and Laura Bush Republican President Link 2001 $811,100 $250,202 30.85% $82,700 10.20% $250k - $1m 41.04% 1
George W. and Laura Bush Republican President Link 2002 $856,058 $268,719 31.39% $69,925 8.17% $250k - $1m 39.56% 1
George W. and Laura Bush Republican President Link 2003 $822,126 $227,490 27.67% $68,360 8.32% $250k - $1m 35.99% 1
George W. and Laura Bush Republican President Link 2004 $784,219 $207,307 26.43% $77,785 9.92% $250k - $1m 36.35% 1
George W. and Laura Bush Republican President Link 2005 $738,880 $187,768 25.41% $75,560 10.23% $250k - $1m 35.64% 1
George W. and Laura Bush Republican President Link 2006 $765,801 $186,378 24.34% $78,100 10.20% $250k - $1m 34.54% 1
George W. and Laura Bush Republican President 2007 $936,111 $221,635 23.68% $165,660 17.70% $250k - $1m 41.37% 1
George Bush Republican President 1989 $456,780 $101,382 22.19% $37,866 8.29% $250k - $1m 30.48% 1
George Bush Republican President Link 1990 $452,803 $99,241 21.92% $38,997 8.61% $250k - $1m 30.53% 1
George Bush Republican President Link 1991 $1,329,580 $204,841 15.41% $818,803 61.58% >$1m 76.99% 1
Bernie Sanders Democrat President Link 2014 $205,617 $27,653 13.45% $8,350 4.06% <$250k 17.51% 1
John Kasich Republican President Link 2013 $313,705 $47,400 15.11% $0 0.00% $250k - $1m 15.11% 1
John Kasich Republican President Link 2014 $402,603 $74,543 18.52% $0 0.00% $250k - $1m 18.52% 1
Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Democrat Vice President Link 1998 $215,432 $35,131 16.31% $195 0.09% <$250k 16.40% 1
Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Democrat Vice President Link 1999 $210,797 $40,309 19.12% $120 0.06% <$250k 19.18% 1
Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Democrat Vice President Link 2007 $319,853 $66,273 20.72% $995 0.31% $250k - $1m 21.03% 1
Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Democrat Vice President Link 2011 $379,035 $87,900 23.19% $5,540 1.46% $250k - $1m 24.65% 1
Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Democrat Vice President Link 2012 $385,072 $87,851 22.81% $7,190 1.87% $250k - $1m 24.68% 1
Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Democrat Vice President Link 2013 $408,733 $96,378 23.58% $20,523 5.02% $250k - $1m 28.60% 1
Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Democrat Vice President Link 2014 $388,844 $90,506 23.28% $7,380 1.90% $250k - $1m 25.17% 1
Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Democrat Vice President Link 2015 $392,279 $91,546 23.34% $6,920 1.76% $250k - $1m 25.10% 1
Barack and Michelle Obama Democrat President Link 2000 $240,726 $63,732 26.47% $2,350 0.98% <$250k 27.45% 1
Barack and Michelle Obama Democrat President Link 2001 $275,123 $86,072 31.28% $1,470 0.53% $250k - $1m 31.82% 1
Barack and Michelle Obama Democrat President Link 2002 $260,824 $68,958 26.44% $1,050 0.40% $250k - $1m 26.84% 1
Barack and Michelle Obama Democrat President Link 2003 $238,327 $51,856 21.76% $3,400 1.43% <$250k 23.18% 1
Barack and Michelle Obama Democrat President Link 2004 $207,647 $40,426 19.47% $2,500 1.20% <$250k 20.67% 1
Barack and Michelle Obama Democrat President Link 2005 $1,670,995 $545,614 32.65% $77,315 4.63% >$1m 37.28% 1
Barack and Michelle Obama Democrat President Link 2006 $991,296 $277,431 27.99% $60,307 6.08% $250k - $1m 34.07% 1
Barack and Michelle Obama Democrat President Link 2007 $4,238,165 $1,396,772 32.96% $240,370 5.67% >$1m 38.63% 1
Barack and Michelle Obama Democrat President Link 2008 $2,736,107 $855,323 31.26% $172,050 6.29% >$1m 37.55% 1
Barack and Michelle Obama Democrat President Link 2009 $5,623,690 $1,792,414 31.87% $329,100 5.85% >$1m 37.72% 1
Barack and Michelle Obama Democrat President Link 2010 $1,795,614 $453,770 25.27% $245,075 13.65% >$1m 38.92% 1
Barack and Michelle Obama Democrat President Link 2011 $844,585 $162,074 19.19% $172,130 20.38% $250k - $1m 39.57% 1
Barack and Michelle Obama Democrat President Link 2012 $662,076 $112,214 16.95% $150,034 22.66% $250k - $1m 39.61% 1
Barack and Michelle Obama Democrat President Link 2013 $503,183 $98,169 19.51% $59,251 11.78% $250k - $1m 31.28% 1
Barack and Michelle Obama Democrat President Link 2014 $495,964 $93,362 18.82% $70,712 14.26% $250k - $1m 33.08% 1
Barack and Michelle Obama Democrat President Link 2015 $447,880 $81,472 18.19% $64,066 14.30% $250k - $1m 32.49% 1
Ronald Reagan Republican President Link 1980 $515,878 $230,886 44.76% $0 0.00% $250k - $1m 44.76% 1
Ronald Reagan Republican President Link 1981 $418,826 $165,291 39.47% $11,895 2.84% $250k - $1m 42.31% 1
Ronald Reagan Republican President 1982 $741,253 $292,616 39.48% $15,563 2.10% $250k - $1m 41.58% 1
Ronald Reagan Republican President Link 1983 $289,273 $128,639 44.47% $15,307 5.29% $250k - $1m 49.76% 1
Ronald Reagan Republican President Link 1985 $394,492 $122,703 31.10% $23,298 5.91% $250k - $1m 37.01% 1
Ronald Reagan Republican President Link 1986 $336,640 $92,460 27.47% $30,487 9.06% $250k - $1m 36.52% 1
Ronald Reagan Republican President Link 1987 $345,357 $86,638 25.09% $25,407 7.36% $250k - $1m 32.44% 1
Ted Cruz Republican President Link 2013 $970,200 $345,596 35.62% $0 0.00% $250k - $1m 35.62% 1
Ted Cruz Republican President Link 2014 $1,210,382 $442,701 36.58% $0 0.00% >$1m 36.58% 1
Jeb Bush Republican President Link 1999 $283,428 $63,089 22.26% $3,175 1.12% $250k - $1m 23.38% 1
Jeb Bush Republican President Link 2000 $202,648 $44,075 21.75% $2,650 1.31% <$250k 23.06% 1
Jeb Bush Republican President Link 2001 $150,331 $15,595 10.37% $7,100 4.72% <$250k 15.10% 1
Jeb Bush Republican President Link 2002 $137,107 $24,465 17.84% $7,500 5.47% <$250k 23.31% 1
Jeb Bush Republican President Link 2003 $145,385 $22,193 15.26% $3,220 2.21% <$250k 17.48% 1
Jeb Bush Republican President Link 2004 $140,041 $21,251 15.17% $4,772 3.41% <$250k 18.58% 1
Jeb Bush Republican President Link 2005 $198,529 $27,518 13.86% $5,965 3.00% <$250k 16.87% 1
Jeb Bush Republican President Link 2006 $260,580 $36,448 13.99% $3,628 1.39% $250k - $1m 15.38% 1
Jeb Bush Republican President Link 2007 $2,271,718 $791,875 34.86% $16,100 0.71% >$1m 35.57% 1
Jeb Bush Republican President Link 2008 $1,850,192 $646,257 34.93% $16,201 0.88% >$1m 35.80% 1
Jeb Bush Republican President Link 2009 $1,975,729 $670,151 33.92% $27,890 1.41% >$1m 35.33% 1
Jeb Bush Republican President Link 2010 $3,214,517 $1,114,673 34.68% $94,904 2.95% >$1m 37.63% 1
Jeb Bush Republican President Link 2011 $6,291,714 $2,255,527 35.85% $61,176 0.97% >$1m 36.82% 1
Jeb Bush Republican President Link 2013 $7,365,073 $2,920,698 39.66% $110,616 1.50% >$1m 41.16% 1
Carly Fiorina Republican President Link 2012 $1,336,936 $230,055 17.21% $198,664 14.86% >$1m 32.07% 1
Carly Fiorina Republican President Link 2013 $1,973,808 $429,005 21.73% $261,426 13.24% >$1m 34.98% 1
Mitt Romney Republican President Link 2010 $21,661,344 $3,009,766 13.89% $2,983,974 13.78% >$1m 27.67% 1
Mitt Romney Republican President Link 2011 $13,709,608 $1,935,708 14.12% $2,250,772 16.42% >$1m 30.54% 1
Paul Ryan Republican Vice President Link 2010 $262,294 $44,847 17.10% $2,600 0.99% $250k - $1m 18.09% 1
Paul Ryan Republican Vice President Link 2011 $323,416 $64,764 20.02% $12,991 4.02% $250k - $1m 24.04% 1
Marco Rubio Republican President 2014 $335,963 $78,917 23.49% $0 0.00% $250k - $1m 23.49% 1
Marco Rubio Republican President Link 2013 $571,400 $161,422 28.25% $0 0.00% $250k - $1m 28.25% 1
New Gingrich Republican President Link 2010 $3,162,424 $994,708 31.45% $81,133 2.57% >$1m 34.02% 1
Dick Cheney Republican Vice President Link 2000 $36,086,635 $14,295,058 39.61% $7,841,646 21.73% >$1m 61.34% 1
Dick Cheney Republican Vice President Link 2001 $4,722,365 $1,720,271 36.43% $0 0.00% >$1m 36.43% 1
Dick Cheney Republican Vice President Link 2002 $1,170,369 $341,114 29.15% $121,983 10.42% >$1m 39.57% 1
Dick Cheney Republican Vice President Link 2003 $1,273,334 $253,067 19.87% $321,141 25.22% >$1m 45.09% 1
Dick Cheney Republican Vice President Link 2004 $1,747,794 $393,518 22.52% $0 0.00% >$1m 22.52% 1
Dick Cheney Republican Vice President Link 2005 $8,824,762 $529,636 6.00% $0 0.00% >$1m 6.00% 1
Dick Cheney Republican Vice President Link 2006 $1,809,296 $413,326 22.84% $0 0.00% >$1m 22.84% 1
Dick Cheney Republican Vice President Link 2007 $3,052,038 $602,651 19.75% $0 0.00% >$1m 19.75% 1
Jimmy Carter Democrat President Link 1977 $190,748 $50,458 26.45% $38,551 20.21% <$250k 46.66% 1
Jimmy Carter Democrat President 1978 $267,395 $89,805 33.59% $18,636 6.97% $250k - $1m 40.55% 1
Jimmy Carter Democrat President 1979 $195,527 $65,044 33.27% $15,438 7.90% <$250k 41.16% 1
Richard Nixon Republican President Link 1970 $262,942 $73,507 27.96% $7,512 2.86% $250k - $1m 30.81% 1
Richard Nixon Republican President Link 1971 $262,384 $18,153 6.92% $2,504 0.95% $250k - $1m 7.87% 1
Richard Nixon Republican President Link 1972 $268,327 $87,030 32.43% $29,500 10.99% $250k - $1m 43.43% 1
Gerald Ford Republican President 1966 $59,514 $18,402 30.92% $1,335 2.24% <$250k 33.16% 1
Gerald Ford Republican President 1967 $71,609 $23,967 33.47% $2,960 4.13% <$250k 37.60% 1
Gerald Ford Republican President 1968 $68,952 $25,707 37.28% $2,353 3.41% <$250k 40.69% 1
Gerald Ford Republican President 1969 $80,742 $33,176 41.09% $2,125 2.63% <$250k 43.72% 1
Gerald Ford Republican President 1970 $94,322 $38,470 40.79% $1,892 2.01% <$250k 42.79% 1
Gerald Ford Republican President 1971 $71,115 $24,481 34.42% $2,187 3.08% <$250k 37.50% 1
Gerald Ford Republican President 1972 $67,927 $24,334 35.82% $2,286 3.37% <$250k 39.19% 1
Gerald Ford Republican President 1973 $92,745 $36,295 39.13% $2,760 2.98% <$250k 42.11% 1
Gerald Ford Republican President 1974 $147,683 $62,281 42.17% $5,849 3.96% <$250k 46.13% 1
John McCain Republican President Link 2006 $358,414 $96,933 27.04% $96,758 27.00% $250k - $1m 54.04% 1
John McCain Republican President Link 2007 $405,409 $118,660 29.27% $105,467 26.01% $250k - $1m 55.28% 1
Rick Santorum Republican President Link 2009 $1,127,266 $310,212 27.52% $29,822 2.65% >$1m 30.16% 1
Rick Santorum Republican President Link 2010 $930,227 $263,442 28.32% $16,289 1.75% $250k - $1m 30.07% 1