President Trump defended himself against allegations of tax avoidance during the presidential debate on Thursday, claiming that he had prepaid his taxes during certain years.
“I prepaid millions and millions of dollars in taxes,” Trump said when pressed by Joe Biden on reports in the New York Times that he paid only $750 in federal income taxes for 2016 and 2017.
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It’s not clear what exactly Trump meant when he said he had prepaid his taxes.
In 2016 and 2017, for example, Trump requested an extension to file his 1040 tax return, the New York Times reported on Thursday. In both years, “he made the required payment to the I.R.S. for income taxes he might owe — $1 million for 2016 and $4.2 million for 2017,” the newspaper wrote.
However, the newspaper added that, in reality, Trump did not actually pay the millions he owed in taxes in 2016 and 2017.
“Virtually all of that liability was washed away when he eventually filed,” the paper reported, “and most of the payments were rolled forward to cover potential taxes in future years.”
Instead, Trump’s actual tax payments in 2016 and 2017 were $750 each, according to the newspaper.
The report said Trump paid no federal income taxes in 10 of the past 15 years. Trump’s overall income was negative in 2016 and 2017, so he did not owe regular income tax on any of it, according to the report. It’s not clear from the report what Trump paid in other taxes, such as payroll and capital gains taxes.
Trump’s businesses have had losses during certain years and profits in others. Therefore it requires tax returns from multiple years to understand what he actually paid and why. Trump is the only president in modern times not to make his tax returns public.
