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The president’s taxes

Trump Paid $750 in Federal Income Taxes in 2017. Here’s the Math.

Figures drawn from President Trump’s tax-return data show how that number was calculated.

The small amount of federal income taxes President Trump paid in both 2016 and 2017 — just $750 each year — has become the focus of much attention since it was revealed in a New York Times investigation. The figures below, drawn from Mr. Trump’s tax-return data for 2017, show how his accountants arrived at that figure for one of those years.

$373,629

Wages

Includes pro-rated presidential salary and small amounts for film and television appearances.

+

6,758,494

Taxable interest

Almost $6 million of this is interest income from his investment with Vornado Realty Trust.

+

21,984

Ordinary dividends

Includes $13,123 from trusts established by his parents and $7,000 from Deutsche Bank.

+

7,562,038

Capital gain and other gains

Profits from the sale of property or other investments.

+

84,351

Pensions and annuities

Includes a Screen Actors Guild Producers pension of $77,808.

15,313,785

Losses on his businesses

Losses after deducting expenses from the $536.6 million in gross receipts at Mr. Trump’s core businesses.

12,306,111

Other income

Losses from prior years, counted with other income, further dragged the total into the red.

–$12,819,400

Total

income

$373,629

Wages

Includes pro-rated presidential salary and small amounts for film and television appearances.

+

6,758,494

Taxable interest

Almost $6 million of this is interest income from his investment with Vornado Realty Trust.

+

21,984

Ordinary dividends

Includes $13,123 from trusts established by his parents and $7,000 from Deutsche Bank.

+

7,562,038

Capital gain and

other gains

Profits from the sale of property or other investments.

+

84,351

Pensions and annuities

Includes a Screen Actors Guild Producers pension of $77,808.

15,313,785

Business losses

Losses after deducting expenses from the $536.6 million in gross receipts at Mr. Trump’s core businesses.

12,306,111

Other income

Losses from prior years, counted with other income, further dragged the total into the red.

–$12,819,400

Total

income

By The New York Times

Although Mr. Trump donates his salary to the government, it is subject to income tax along with his other earnings. But because Mr. Trump’s overall income was negative, he did not owe regular income tax on any of it.

He was, however, still subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax, a parallel tax system that reduces the benefit of some deductions, preventing wealthy people from erasing their tax liability altogether. Most significantly, the A.M.T. formula disallowed $45 million in losses that Mr. Trump had carried over from prior years.

But tax laws gave him one more line on which to reduce the A.M.T. Mr. Trump had $22.7 million in General Business Credit, much of it carried forward from prior years, that he could apply. The credit is a smorgasbord of tax incentives and givebacks to business owners, and in Mr. Trump’s case they ranged from credits of $322,926 for Social Security and Medicare taxes paid on employee tips to at least $1.5 million related to rehabilitating the Old Post Office in Washington.

The business credit cannot be used to get a refund; it can only be applied against taxes owed. Mr. Trump had more than enough to cancel out his $7,435,857 tax bill. But on the Form 3800 for the General Business Credit, his accountants subtracted $750 from his allowable credit. Why they did that is not clear. But the result was a total federal income tax liability of $750.

$7,435,857

Alternative Minimum Tax

7,435,107

General Business Credit

$750

Total income

tax due

$7,435,857

A.M.T.

General Business

Credit

7,435,107

$750

Total income

tax due

By The New York Times

Russ Buettner is a reporter on The New York Times investigations desk. Since 2016, his reporting has focused on the personal finances of Donald. J. Trump, including articles that revealed large business losses and tax avoidance schemes evidenced on several decades of his tax returns. In 2019, he shared a Pulitzer Prize for work that revealed the vast inheritance Mr. Trump had received from his father. More about Russ Buettner

Mike McIntire is a reporter with the investigations unit. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, and has written in depth on campaign finance, gun violence and corruption in college sports. More about Mike McIntire

Susanne Craig is an investigative reporter. She has been a Wall Street  correspondent and bureau chief in Albany. She shared a Pulitzer Prize in 2019 for work that shattered Donald Trump’s myth that he is a self-made billionaire.  More about Susanne Craig

Keith Collins is a reporter and graphics editor. He specializes in visual storytelling and covers a range of topics, with a focus on politics and technology. He has a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. More about Keith Collins

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 14 of the New York edition with the headline: How a Self-Proclaimed Billionaire Arrived at a $750 Tax Bill. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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