Bush Tax Cuts Save Obamas $100K

Barack and Michelle Obama reeled in $1,728,096 last year—a precipitous drop from the $5.5 million the first couple claimed the year before, according to tax returns released yesterday by the White House. And while Obama proclaimed in last Wednesday's speech that he doesn't "need another tax cut," he did indeed enjoy one: The New York Post reports that the Obamas saved about $100,000 thanks to the Bush tax cut extension. He also benefited from a $50,000 home-mortgage interest write-off, a deduction he has proposed lowering.

The Obamas paid $435,770 in federal taxes, $51,568 in Illinois taxes, and donated $245,075 to 36 charities, reports Reuters. The president reported $395,188 in wages, salaries, and tips. The income was based largely on sales of Obama's three books, though he donated after-tax proceeds of Of Thee I Sing, the only one written as sitting president, to charity. Joe and Jill Biden, meanwhile, had an adjusted gross income of $379,178, paid $86,626 in federal taxes, and donated $5,350 to charity . (More President Obama stories.)