Obamas pay $98,169 in taxes on income of $481,098

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama paid $98,169 in taxes on $481,098 in adjusted income last year, tax returns the White House released Friday show. They paid an effective federal income tax rate of 20.4 percent and donated significantly less to charity than they did the year before.

The 42-page document, which included the couple’s Illinois state income tax return, shows the Obamas reported donating $59,251 to 32 charities, which helped lower their overall tax bill. The nearly $60,000 in donations represents 12.3 percent of their adjusted gross income.

But their charitable giving was down sharply from 2012, when the president and first lady reported giving away $150,034.

Their largest charitable gift last year, $8,751, went to the Fisher House Foundation, which supports military families. The Obamas gave the foundation $103,871 in 2012.

The joint tax returns, which the Obamas signed Tuesday, were posted on the White House website on Friday, four days before the April 15 income tax filing deadline.

Income from the sale of Obama’s best-selling books also declined significantly since 2012.

Obama received $31,139 from Random House and $85,041 from Dystel & Goderich Literary Management, for a total of $116,180 in book sales. That combined total compares with $273,739 in similar payments he received in 2012. There was a big drop in the amount from Random House, which paid Obama $162,789 in 2012.

Overall, the Obamas had total tax payments of $117,277. They were entitled to a refund of $19,108, but applied it toward their 2014 tax bill instead of pocketing the money.

They also paid an extra $9,513 in alternative minimum tax.

Obama’s annual salary as president is $400,000, which was the main source of the family’s income last year.

Itemized deductions totaling $147,769 helped reduce the Obamas’ taxable income. Along with their charitable contributions, the Obamas deducted $42,383 in mortgage interest on the home they own in Chicago.

Among the Obamas’ other notable charitable contributions were $5,000 to the Sidwell Friends School, the exclusive private school where daughters Malia and Sasha are enrolled, $4,000 to the American Red Cross and $2,000 to One Fund Boston, which was created last year to aid victims of the Boston Marathon bombings.

The Obamas also redeemed a $295,000 short-term U.S. Treasury note they acquired in April 2012, selling off the security in January 2013. The proceeds were the same as the original price of the note, so the Obamas incurred neither a profit nor a loss on the sale.

They also sold three other long-term Treasury notes worth $1.2 million and posted a capital loss of $112,515. The White House did not say why the Obamas sold the notes.

For tax purposes, the Obamas reported only a $3,000 capital loss from the sales. Taxpayers are allowed to carry over capital losses to the next year if the loss is more than $3,000. Under the carry-over provision, taxpayers can list just $3,000 as their total capital loss for the year.

The White House said the year-to-year difference in Obama’s charitable giving was largely due to declining proceeds from sales of his children’s book, “Of The I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters.” Obama in 2011 designated those proceeds to Fisher House. Proceeds have declined every year since.

Excluding charitable contributions tied to book royalties, Obama gave away 10.5 percent of his adjusted gross income last year, up from 7.6 percent in 2012, the White House said.

The Obamas’ Illinois income tax return showed them paying $23,328 in income taxes to their home state.

Separately, Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, $96,378 in federal taxes last year on adjusted gross income of $407,009. They paid an effective federal income tax rate of 23.7 percent, according to the returns, which were filed jointly and also posted on the White House website on Friday.

The Bidens paid $16,444 in taxes to their home state of Delaware.

Jill Biden also paid $3,470 in income tax to Virginia from her work as a professor at Northern Virginia Community College.

The Bidens donated $20,523 to seven charities last year, which was about one-third of the money the Obamas gave away. The bulk of the Bidens’ charitable donations, $15,300 in royalties from a children’s book written by Jill Biden, was donated to the USO, a military service organization.

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Associated Press writer Stephen Braun contributed to this report.

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