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Joe Biden
stated on October 31, 2020 in a rally:
"I’ve released 22 years of my tax returns. You can go online and look. (Donald
Trump) hasn’t released one.”

 * National
 * Candidate Biography
 * Ethics
 * Taxes
 * Joe Biden

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, right, and former President Barack
Obama greet each other with an air elbow bump, at a rally in Flint, Mich., Oct.
31, 2020. (AP)


By Bill McCarthy October 31, 2020


YES, JOE BIDEN HAS RELEASED 22 YEARS OF TAX RETURNS ONLINE

IF YOUR TIME IS SHORT

 * Biden’s tax returns from 2019 to 1998 are available in different places
   online. That amounts to 22 years worth of the financial documents.

 * Trump has not released his tax returns, citing a pending audit.

See the sources for this fact-check


In a Halloween-day pitch to voters in Flint, Mich., former Vice President Joe
Biden slammed President Donald Trump over the New York Times’ reporting on his
long-concealed tax returns, which revealed that Trump paid $750 in federal
income taxes in both 2017 and 2016.

"Why should you pay more in taxes than Donald Trump?" Biden said at the event
with former President Barack Obama. "He paid $750 in taxes the one year we know
of. He’s yet to release. I’ve released 22 years of my tax returns. You can go
online and look. He hasn’t released one." 



"He talks about corruption," Biden continued. "What is he hiding?"

The Democratic presidential nominee’s 22-years claim is accurate. He has made it
before, including ahead of the first presidential debate, when he made public
his 2019 tax returns.





The Biden campaign website lists Biden’s federal and state tax returns for 2019,
2018, 2017 and 2016. It also lists Biden’s financial disclosure documents for
2020 and 2019 and the 2019 tax returns for his running mate, California Sen.
Kamala Harris, and her husband.

The returns show Biden and his wife, Jill, paid nearly $288,000 in federal
income taxes in 2019.

RELATED: Biden’s income sources aren’t such a big mystery

Biden’s tax returns for the previous eight years, covering the rest of his two
terms as Obama’s vice president, can be found in archived press releases from
the Obama White House. Those included tax returns released for 2015, 2014, 2013,
2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, and 2008. 

FEATURED FACT-CHECK

Instagram posts
stated on October 25, 2022 in an Instagram post
The documentary “2,000 Mules proves” Democrats “cheated on the 2020 elections.”

By Jon Greenberg • October 28, 2022

Asked for the remaining 10 years’ worth of filings, the Biden campaign pointed
to an archived Q&A from Obama’s 2008 campaign website, which linked to many
years of Biden’s tax returns from his decades-long stint as a U.S. senator
representing Delaware. The page included tax returns from 2007, 2006, 2005,
2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, and 1998. 

The 22 years of Biden tax returns are also available as part of an archive
maintained by Tax Notes.

Trump has not released his tax returns, breaking a promise he made during his
2016 campaign. According to the New York Times, the former real estate mogul and
reality TV star has vowed for nearly a decade to release his tax returns under
different conditions, but he hasn’t delivered.

Trump is the only president or major-party presidential nominee in decades to
keep his returns hidden from the public. Efforts by Congress and others to get
hold of them have so far been unsuccessful.

Trump has cited a pending Internal Revenue Service audit as reason for not
publishing his tax returns. The IRS, however, has said nothing precludes a
president from releasing tax returns while under audit — as President Richard
Nixon did. Trump has also claimed, falsely, that his financial disclosures offer
a more extensive picture of his finances. 

In recent years, the New York Times has obtained tax records and pieced together
a more complete picture of Trump’s tax history. In September, the Times reported
that Trump paid $750 in federal income taxes in both 2017 and 2016, and none at
all in several years before that. 

Trump has provided no evidence to suggest that he’s paid more in taxes than the
Times found. Tax experts said the complex tax history depicted by the Times
report shows unusually aggressive tax avoidance and exceptionally persistent
losses. 

The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Our ruling

Biden said, "I’ve released 22 years of my tax returns. You can go online and
look. (Donald Trump) hasn’t released one."

Biden’s federal tax returns from 2019 dating back to 1998 are available online,
as he claimed. The most recent returns are highlighted on his campaign website.
Others can be found on the websites for the Obama White House and the 2008 Obama
presidential campaign.

Trump has not publicly released his tax returns, making him the only president
or major-party presidential nominee in decades who has not done so. 

We rate Biden’s claim True.

This fact check is available at IFCN’s 2020 US Elections FactChat #Chatbot on
WhatsApp. Click here, for more.





OUR SOURCES

Joe Biden on YouTube, "Joe Biden and President Barack Obama Speak LIVE in Flint,
Michigan | Joe Biden For President 2020," Oct. 31, 2020

Joe Biden for President, "Financial Disclosures and Tax Returns," accessed Oct.
31, 2020

Obama for America, "Have Senator Biden and Dr. Jill Biden released their tax
returns for the last ten years?" accessed via the Internet Archive Oct. 31, 2020

Tax Notes, "Presidential Tax Returns," accessed Oct. 31, 2020

The White House of President Barack Obama, "President Obama and Vice President
Biden's 2015 Tax Returns," April 15, 2016

The White House of President Barack Obama, "President Obama and Vice President
Biden’s 2014 Tax Returns," April 10, 2015

The White House of President Barack Obama, "President Obama and Vice President
Biden’s 2013 Tax Returns," April 11, 2014

The White House of President Barack Obama, "President Obama and Vice President
Biden’s 2012 Tax Returns," April 12, 2013

The White House of President Barack Obama, "President Obama and Vice President
Biden’s 2011 Tax Returns," April 13, 2012

The White House of President Barack Obama, "President Obama and Vice President
Biden’s Tax Returns and Tax Receipts," April 18, 2011

The White House of President Barack Obama, "President Obama and Vice President
Biden’s Tax Returns," April 15, 2010

The White House of President Barack Obama, "Release of the President and Vice
President’s Tax Returns," April 15, 2009

The New York Times, "The President’s Taxes: A Reader’s Guide," Oct. 31, 2020

The Associated Press, "Biden releases 2019 taxes as pre-debate contrast with
Trump," Sept. 29, 2020

Joe Biden on Twitter, Sept. 29, 2020

The New York Times, "Trump on Releasing His Tax Returns: From ‘Absolutely’ to
‘Political Prosecution,'" July 9, 2020

The New York Times, "Vice President Biden's 2008 Income Tax Returns," April 15,
2009

PolitiFact, "Biden’s income sources aren’t such a big mystery," Oct. 22, 2020

PolitiFact, "Experts say Trump tax report shows aggressive tax avoidance,
unusually persistent losses," Sept. 30, 2020

PolitiFact, "Fact-checking Joe Biden’s claim about his own income," Sept. 10,
2020

PolitiFact, "Donald Trump’s tax returns: How Congress might — or might not — get
them," April 9, 2019

PolitiFact, "Trump 'might' release returns 'when I'm out of office,'" May 12,
2017

PolitiFact, "Trump wrong that Americans don't care about his tax returns," Jan.
11, 2017

PolitiFact, "Tim Kaine correctly notes Richard Nixon released tax returns
despite audit," Oct. 5, 2016

PolitiFact, "Pence's False claim that Trump 'hasn't broken' tax return promise,"
Oct. 5, 2020

PolitiFact, "Is Donald Trump the only major-party nominee in 40 years not to
release his tax returns?" Sept. 28, 2016

PolitiFact, "Donald Trump says his financial disclosures more than make up for
lack of releasing tax returns," Sept. 7, 2016

Email correspondence with the Biden campaign, Oct. 31, 2020

READ ABOUT OUR PROCESS



The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter


BROWSE THE TRUTH-O-METER


MORE BY BILL MCCARTHY

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TikTok posts
stated on July 19, 2022 a TikTok post:
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stated on July 19, 2022 an Instagram post:
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By Bill McCarthy • July 20, 2022
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stated on July 15, 2022 a Facebook post:
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supporters" on Jan. 6, 2021, proving the attack “was 100% a setup."

By Bill McCarthy • July 19, 2022



YES, JOE BIDEN HAS RELEASED 22 YEARS OF TAX RETURNS ONLINE

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   By Ciara O'Rourke • November 21, 2022
 * Viral image
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   By Ciara O'Rourke • November 21, 2022
 * Instagram posts
   stated on November 11, 2022 in a post:
   Increases in respiratory syncytial virus in children are linked to the
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   By Jill Terreri Ramos • November 21, 2022
 * Viral image
   stated on November 13, 2022 in an Instagram post:
   Ballots recovered from a Santa Clara County, California, ravine are evidence
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   By Ciara O'Rourke • November 18, 2022
 * Instagram posts
   stated on November 17, 2022 in an Instagram post:
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   By Ciara O'Rourke • November 18, 2022
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   By Ciara O'Rourke • November 18, 2022

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