London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Feb 01, 2026

Trump's tax returns reveal president's foreign bank accounts

Newly released tax returns for former President Donald Trump have shed light on his business losses, complicated tax set-ups and tax payments during his White House years. The former president's returns showed big losses, complicated business set-ups and no taxes paid in 2020.

However, they are unlikely to have a major political impact as he eyes another presidential run, experts say.

The documents confirmed that Mr Trump paid no federal taxes in 2020 and only $750 (£622) in 2016 and 2017.

He paid close to $1m in 2018, however.

A long legal battle led to the release of the records, and Mr Trump criticised the disclosure, warning that it will deepen the US political divide.

He added that the returns "show how proudly successful I have been and how I have been able to use depreciation and various other tax deductions as an incentive for creating thousands of jobs and magnificent structures and enterprises."

Although there's no law requiring it, it is tradition for presidents to publish their tax returns.

US presidents are paid a salary like any worker, but many also earn income from their personal businesses and investments.

The newly released documents include tax returns and related documents for Donald Trump, the Donald J Trump Revocable Trust and seven corporate entities.

They represent only a fraction of the former president's over 400 separate business interests.

Previously released figures show that Mr Trump paid a total of $1.1m (£906,587) in federal income taxes from 2016 to 2019, all but $1,500 of which was paid in one year. He paid no taxes in 2020, the final year of his presidency.

The documents also show that Mr Trump, who had international business dealings, held bank accounts in Ireland, the United Kingdom and China for a period that ran from 2015-17.

The overseas accounts were notable, as Mr Trump held the White House in 2017, giving him significant power over US foreign policy.

From 2018 onward, Mr Trump only reported having an account in the UK.

The records also show that the Internal Revenue Service - the US federal entity responsible for collecting taxes - did not audit Mr Trump during the first years of his presidency, only beginning in 2019 after Democrats sought to gain access to his tax records.

The finding led to criticism from Democrats. Don Beyer, a member of the committee that oversaw the record release, said that the IRS' auditing system was broken and that "Congress has so much work to do to make tax enforcement in this country fairer."

In a memo cited in an earlier report, the IRS noted that "it is not possible to obtain the resources available to examine all potential issues" associated with Mr Trump's hundreds of business interests.

Maryanne Monforte, a professor of accounting practices at Syracuse University, said the tax returns represent a quagmire even for professionals.

"He's the quintessential businessman and he's got his hands in everything," she said. "He started out in real estate, and that creates a level of complexity between valuations, revenues, losses and depreciation. That all means his return has an added layer of complexity that you might not see with other billionaires."


Does releasing the tax records matter?

However, experts from both sides of the US political spectrum believe that the returns will have little impact on Mr Trump's popularity among his core supporters.

"It won't matter what was in there at all, short of anything that would be a clear legal violation," said Doug Heye, a former Republican National Committee spokesman.

"There's no Trump supporter who's going to say 'oh, I can't vote for him now'," he said. "Even though we haven't seen Trump's taxes, we've been through this before. This isn't changing anyone's minds."

"Trump voters aren't going to be moved by anything," said Democratic strategist Ameshia Cross.

For them, "Quite frankly, I don't think this matters," she said, though undecided voters - or Republicans seeking an alternative to Mr Trump - may perceive the documents as showing that his business acumen "wasn't actually what he was making it out to be".

"That would mean that the entire campaign that he ran on was basically a lie," she said. "This showcases something that he had been trying to hide for years."


How much taxes have other presidents paid - and how does Trump compare?

In some years, Mr Trump paid a far smaller proportion of his income than other recent presidents. In 2018, he and his wife earned $24.3m in adjusted gross income. But he paid just under $1m, giving him a tax rate of just 4.1%. In America, spouses file together.

In other years, because he reported huge business losses, Mr Trump's tax burden was actually greater than what he earned on paper. For example, in 2017, he lost money but still paid taxes.

In comparison, Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama's taxable income peaked in 2009, when they took home $5.5m, and paid about 30% in taxes. Most of their income came from the sales of Mr Obama's two books, Dreams from My Father and Audacity of Hope.

As his book sales dwindled, Mr Obama's taxable income declined considerably - in 2015, the couple earned just $447,880, almost all from his presidential salary, and paid about 18% of their income to the IRS.

George W Bush did not write his presidential biography until after he left office - while he was president, he and his wife Laura Bush averaged an income of about $800,000 a year. About half came from salaries, and the other half came from interest and investments. They had an average tax rate of 27.8%.

Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton started off in 1992 making just under $300,000 a year, mostly from salaries, and paying 23.6% of their income to tax. In 1996, Mrs Clinton's book helped the couple earn over $1m, but their tax rate actually declined to 18.5%.

Comments

Oh ya 3 year ago
Who cares what he made what should concern people is that he us still promoting the clot shot when the life insurance industry is saying it is killing a extra 2400 people a day over average daily US deaths and crippling 5000 a day. Think about that in 12 years in Vietnam America lost 60.000 and now you are losing 2400 a day. So you will lose in a month what took 12 years in Vietnam. And Trump was still bragging the other day about his great clot shot. He has mental health issues or a ego that is larger than life

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
New Epstein Files Include Images of Former Prince Andrew Kneeling Over Unidentified Woman
Starmer Urges Former Prince Andrew to Testify Before US Congress About Epstein Ties
Starmer Extends Invitation to Japan’s Prime Minister After Strategic Tokyo Talks
Skupski and Harrison Clinch Australian Open Men’s Doubles Title in Melbourne
DOJ Unveils Millions of Epstein Files, Fueling Global Scrutiny of Elite Networks
France Begins Phasing Out Zoom and Microsoft Teams to Advance Digital Sovereignty
China Lifts Sanctions on British MPs and Peers After Starmer Xi Talks in Beijing
Trump Nominates Kevin Warsh as Fed Chair to Reorient U.S. Monetary Policy Toward Pro-Growth Interest Rates
AstraZeneca Announces £11bn China Investment After Scaling Back UK Expansion Plans
Starmer and Xi Forge Warming UK-China Ties in Beijing Amid Strategic Reset
Tech Market Shifts and AI Investment Surge Drive Global Innovation and Layoffs
Markets Jolt as AI Spending, US Policy Shifts, and Global Security Moves Drive New Volatility
U.S. Signals Potential Decertification of Canadian Aircraft as Bilateral Tensions Escalate
Former South Korean First Lady Kim Keon Hee Sentenced to 20 Months for Bribery
Tesla Ends Model S and X Production and Sends $2 Billion to xAI as 2025 Revenue Declines
China Executes 11 Members of the Ming Clan in Cross-Border Scam Case Linked to Myanmar’s Lawkai
Trump Administration Officials Held Talks With Group Advocating Alberta’s Independence
Starmer Signals UK Push for a More ‘Sophisticated’ Relationship With China in Talks With Xi
Shopping Chatbots Move From Advice to Checkout as Walmart Pushes Faster Than Amazon
Starmer Seeks Economic Gains From China Visit While Navigating US Diplomatic Sensitivities
Starmer Says China Visit Will Deliver Economic Benefits as He Prepares to Meet Xi Jinping
UK Prime Minister Starmer Arrives in China to Bolster Trade and Warn Firms of Strategic Opportunities
The AI Hiring Doom Loop — Algorithmic Recruiting Filters Out Top Talent and Rewards Average or Fake Candidates
Amazon to Cut 16,000 Corporate Jobs After Earlier 14,000 Reduction, Citing Streamlining and AI Investment
Federal Reserve Holds Interest Rate at 3.75% as Powell Faces DOJ Criminal Investigation During 2026 Decision
Putin’s Four-Year Ukraine Invasion Cost: Russia’s Mass Casualty Attrition and the Donbas Security-Guarantee Tradeoff
Wall Street Bets on Strong US Growth and Currency Moves as Dollar Slips After Trump Comments
UK Prime Minister Traveled to China Using Temporary Phones and Laptops to Limit Espionage Risks
Google’s $68 Million Voice Assistant Settlement Exposes Incentives That Reward Over-Collection
Kim Kardashian Admits Faking Paparazzi Visit to Britney Spears for Fame in Early 2000s
UPS to Cut 30,000 More Jobs by 2026 Amid Shift to High-Margin Deliveries
France Plans to Replace Teams and Zoom Across Government With Homegrown Visio by 2027
Trump Removes Minneapolis Deportation Operation Commander After Fatal Shooting of Protester
Iran’s Elite Wealth Abroad and Sanctions Leakage: How Offshore Luxury Sustains Regime Resilience
U.S. Central Command Announces Regional Air Exercise as Iran Unveils Drone Carrier Footage
Four Arrested in Andhra Pradesh Over Alleged HIV-Contaminated Injection Attack on Doctor
Hot Drinks, Hidden Particles: How Disposable Cups Quietly Increase Microplastic Exposure
UK Banks Pledge £11 Billion Lending Package to Help Firms Expand Overseas
Suella Braverman Defects to Reform UK, Accusing Conservatives of Betrayal on Core Policies
Melania Trump Documentary Sees Limited Box Office Traction in UK Cinemas
Meta and EssilorLuxottica Ray-Ban Smart Glasses and the Non-Consensual Public Recording Economy
WhatsApp Develops New Meta AI Features to Enhance User Control
Germany Considers Gold Reserves Amidst Rising Tensions with the U.S.
Michael Schumacher Shows Significant Improvement in Health Status
Greenland’s NATO Stress Test: Coercion, Credibility, and the New Arctic Bargaining Game
Diego Garcia and the Chagos Dispute: When Decolonization Collides With Alliance Power
Trump Claims “Total” U.S. Access to Greenland as NATO Weighs Arctic Basing Rights and Deterrence
Air France and KLM Suspend Multiple Middle East Routes as Regional Tensions Disrupt Aviation
U.S. winter storm triggers 13,000-plus flight cancellations and 160,000 power outages
Poland delays euro adoption as Domański cites $1tn economy and zloty advantage
×