Trump Refused to Release His Tax Returns — Breaking a 48-Year Tradition. When Congress Finally Got Them, They Showed He Paid $750 in Federal Income Tax in 2016.

The tradition of presidential candidates releasing tax returns exists for a simple reason: it allows voters to assess conflicts of interest, verify income claims, and understand a candidate's financial entanglements before entrusting them with the power of the presidency. Trump claimed throughout 2016 and his presidency that he couldn't release his returns because they were under IRS audit. The IRS itself says an audit doesn't prevent voluntary disclosure. Every other major-party candidate since Gerald Ford had released returns anyway. Trump was the first in 48 years to refuse.

The mechanism by which a billionaire pays $750 in federal taxes while reportedly claiming to be worth billions is complex but documented: massive reported business losses — particularly from the Trump hotels and casino operations — offset income year after year. The Times found that Trump's businesses had collectively reported losses of more than $1 billion between 1985 and 1994. Later losses from other operations continued the pattern. Whether these losses were genuine or whether they involved aggressive accounting practices that might not survive IRS scrutiny was exactly what voters couldn't assess — because he refused to release the returns.

When the House Ways and Means Committee finally received Trump's returns in December 2022 — pursuant to a legal process that went to the Supreme Court — they found that the IRS had failed to conduct mandatory audits of Trump's returns during his presidency. The IRS is required by law to audit sitting presidents annually. Those audits were either delayed or conducted perfunctorily while Trump was president. The committee also found he had claimed questionable deductions and owed millions in additional taxes. The full audit was never completed.