President Obama and his wife, Michelle, donated 14 percent of their income to charity in 2010, according to the couple’s 2010 tax return.
The couple, which reported an adjusted gross income of $1.7-million in 2010, gave $245,075 to 36 charities.
Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, gave $4,400 to eight charities and donated $950 worth of clothing and household goods. Those contributions amounted to 1.4 percent of their income.
The largest donation by the Obamas was $131,075 to the Fisher House Foundation, a group that gives free or low-cost housing to military personnel and their families while they are receiving treatment at military medical centers.
They also gave $15,000 to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, $10,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and $5,000 to the Sidwell Friends School, where their daughters, Sasha and Malia, are enrolled. The full list of the Obamas’ charitable donations can be found on Page 37 of their 2010 tax return.
The Bidens gave $1,400 to the Northern Virginia Community College Alumni Scholarship Fund and $1,000 to the Westminster Presbyterian Church. They also donated clothing and household goods to Goodwill of Delaware and Delaware County and the Clothing Bank of Delaware. For a list of their gifts and donations view Pages 12 and 18 of their 2010 tax return.
The disclosure comes days after President Obama restated his proposal to change the federal tax code that would limit the tax breaks wealthy people could take for itemized deductions, including those for charitable gifts, to 28 percent of the dollars donated.
According to their tax filings, the Obamas claimed $373,289 in itemized deductions in 2010. Those deductions, along with their exemptions, left them with a taxable income of $1.34-million in 2010.
Matt Dolan, a Washington tax lawyer, who opposes Obama’s proposal to limit itemized deductions for the wealthy, said that if the President’s proposal had been in place in 2010, the Obamas would have had to pay $26,131 more in taxes.
The Bidens had an adjusted gross income of $379,178 and deducted $67,038 in itemized deductions, which includes their charitable deductions. Their total taxable income was $304,840.
The bite on the Bidens for the Obama proposal would have been less; they would have had to pay $3,462 more in taxes, Mr. Dolan said.