18 revelations from a trove of Trump tax records

The New York Times has obtained tax-return data for President Donald Trump and his companies that cover more than two decades. Trump has long refused to release this information, making him the first President in decades to hide basic details about his finances. His refusal has made his tax returns among the most sought-after documents in recent memory. It is important to remember that the returns are not an unvarnished look at Trump’s business activity. They are instead his portrayal of his companies, compiled for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). But they do offer the most detailed picture yet available. Let's take a deeper look at the takeaways.

In addition to the 11 years in which he paid no taxes during the 18 years examined by The Times, he paid only $750 in each of the two most recent years — 2016 and 2017. He has managed to avoid taxes while enjoying the lifestyle of a billionaire — which he claims to be — in which his companies cover the costs of many personal expenses.

Trump did face large tax bills after the initial success of The Apprentice television show, but he erased most of these tax payments through a refund. Combined, Trump initially paid almost $95 million in federal income taxes over the 18 years. He later managed to recoup most of that money, with interest, by applying for and receiving a $72.9 million tax refund, starting in 2010. The refund reduced his total income tax bill between 2000 and 2017 to an annual average of $1.4 million. Credit: Reuters Photo

Taxes on wealthy Americans have declined sharply over the past few decades, and many use loopholes to reduce their taxes below the statutory rates. Over the past two decades, Trump has paid about $400 million less in combined federal income taxes than a very wealthy person who paid the average for that group each year. Credit: Reuters Photo

Trump may be the wealthiest US president in history. Yet he has often paid less in taxes than other recent Presidents. Barack Obama and George W Bush each regularly paid more than $100,000 a year — and sometimes much more — in federal income taxes while in office. Trump, by contrast, is running a federal government to which he has contributed almost no income tax revenue in many years. Credit: Reuters Photo

When applying for the refund, he cited a giant financial loss that may be related to the failure of his Atlantic City casinos. He also claimed that he had fully surrendered his stake in the casinos. Federal law holds that investors can claim a total loss on an investment, as Trump did, only if they receive nothing in return. Trump, however, did appear to receive five per cent of the new casino company that formed when he renounced his stake. Credit: Reuters Photo

Trump's residences are part of the family business, as are the golf courses where he spends so much time. He has classified the cost of his aircraft as a business expense as well. Haircuts — including more than $70,000 to style his hair during The Apprentice — have fallen into the same category. So did almost $100,000 paid to a favourite hair and makeup artist of Ivanka Trump. All of this helps to reduce Trump’s tax bill further, because companies can write off business expenses. Credit: AFP Photo

Trump bought Seven Spring in New York in 1996. His sons, Eric and Donald Jr, spent summers living there when they were younger. The Trump Organization website reports that Seven Springs is used as a retreat for the Trump family. Nonetheless, the elder Trump has classified it as an investment property. As a result, he has been able to write off $2.2 million in property taxes since 2014 — even as the 2017 tax law limited individuals to writing off only $10k in property taxes a year. Credit: Reuters Photo

Consulting fee reduces taxes because companies are able to write them off as a business expense, lowering the amount of final profit subject to tax. Trump collected $5 million on a hotel deal in Azerbaijan, for example, and reported $1.1 million in consulting fees. In Dubai, there was a $630,000 fee on $3 million in income. Since 2010, Trump has written off some $26 million in such fees. Credit: AFP Photo

Trump’s private records show that his company once paid $747,622 in fees to an unnamed consultant for hotel projects in Hawaii and Vancouver, British Columbia. Ivanka Trump’s public disclosure forms — which she filed when joining the White House staff in 2017 — show that she had received an identical amount through a consulting company she co-owned. Credit: Reuters Photo

Since 2000, he has reported losing more than $315 million at the golf courses that he often describes as the heart of his empire. Much of this has been at Trump National Doral, a resort near Miami that he bought in 2012. And his Washington hotel, opened in 2016, has lost more than $55 million. An exception: Trump Tower in New York, which reliably earns him more than $20 million in profits a year. Credit: AFP Photo

The Times calculates that between 2004 and 2018, Trump made a combined $427.4 million from selling his image — an image of unapologetic wealth through shrewd business management. The marketing of this image has been a huge success, even if the underlying management of many of the operating Trump companies has not been. Other firms have paid for the right to use the Trump name. Of course, Trump’s brand also made possible his election as the first US President with no prior experience. Credit: Reuters Photo

The Trump Organization has used the losses to offset the rich profits from the licensing of the Trump brand and other profitable pieces of its business. The reported losses from the operating businesses were so large that they often fully erased the licensing income, leaving the organisation to claim that it earns no money and thus owes no taxes. The collapse of major parts of his business in the early 1990s generated huge losses that he used to reduce his taxes for years afterward. Credit: Reuters Photo

“The Apprentice,” which debuted on NBC in 2004, was a huge hit. Trump received 50% of its profits, and he went on to buy more than 10 golf courses and multiple other properties. The losses at these properties reduced his tax bill. But the strategy ran into trouble as the money from “The Apprentice” began to decline. By 2015, his financial condition was worsening. Credit: AP Photo

The financial records do not answer this question definitively. But the timing is consistent: Trump announced a campaign that seemed a long shot to win but was almost certain to bring him newfound attention, at the same time that his businesses were in need of a new approach. Credit: AFP Photo

A surge of new members at the Mar-a-Lago club in Florida gave him $5 million a year from the business since 2015. Roofing materials manufacturer GAF spent at least $1.5 million at Doral in 2018 as its industry was seeking changes in federal regulations. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association paid at least $397,602 in 2017 to the Washington hotel, where it held at least one event during its World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians. Trump received millions from foreign nations. Credit: AFP Photo

With “The Apprentice” revenue declining, Trump has absorbed the losses partly through one-time financial moves that may not be available to him again. In 2012, he took out a $100 million mortgage on the commercial space in Trump Tower. He has also sold hundreds of millions worth of stock and bonds. But his financial records indicate that he may have as little as $873,000 left to sell. Credit: AFP Photo

He appears to have paid off none of the principal of the Trump Tower mortgage, and the full $100 million comes due in 2022. And if he loses his dispute with the IRS over the 2010 refund, he could owe the government more than $100 million (including interest on the original amount). Credit: AFP Photo

In the 1990s, Trump nearly ruined himself by personally guaranteeing hundreds of millions of dollars in loans, and he has since said that he regretted doing so. But he has taken the same step again, his tax records show. He appears to be responsible for loans totaling $421 million, most of which is coming due within four years. Should he win reelection, his lenders could be placed in the unprecedented position of weighing whether to foreclose on a sitting President. Credit: Reuters Photo