Bidens Paid 25.9% Rate, Earned $607,336, Tax Returns Show

WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden restored a long-standing presidential tradition Monday by releasing his tax returns, showing that 25.9% of the first couple's income went to the federal government in 2020. The average federal income tax rate is just more than 14%. 

Biden and his wife, Jill, a teacher, earned $607,336 last year while he was running for president. That is down from $985,223 in 2019, when they primarily earned money from book sales, speeches and positions at the University of Pennsylvania and Northern Virginia Community College. Those income opportunities diminished because of the campaign.  Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, declined to release his tax returns, a precedent that the new administration rejected.  "I would expect that we will continue to release the president's tax returns, as should be expected by every president of the United States," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Monday ahead of the release.