The president made less in 2012 than in any other year since taking office, with about 40 percent of the nearly $609,000 in income that he and first lady Michelle Obama reported coming from book sales.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama, who renewed his call for higher taxes on the wealthy in the budget he released Wednesday, paid $112,214 in taxes last year, putting his effective federal tax rate at 18.4 percent. The Obamas donated almost one-quarter of their almost $609,000 income to charity, according to tax returns released by the White House.
Most of the $608,611 that the Obamas reported in adjusted gross income came from the president's salary, as he reported $394,840 in wages. An additional $258,772 came from royalties from his books, including his 1995 memoir "Dreams From My Father," his 2006 political book, "The Audacity of Hope," and a 2010 children's book, "Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters."
Income from Obama's books has fallen off since 2009, when his books sales surged after his inauguration. The Obamas made $5.5 million that year — his first year in office — but the figure dropped precipitously the next year to $1.73 million. In 2011, the Obamas reported about $790,000 in income.
The president and Mrs. Obama signed their tax returns on Monday — one week before the April 15 deadline for Americans to file their 2012 returns.
Itemized deductions of $258,385 brought the Obama's taxable income down to $335,026. The first family deducted $45,056 in interest on the mortgage for their home in Chicago, plus $36,554 in state and local taxes and $26,751 in real estate taxes.
OTHER NUMBERS THE OBAMAS MADE, PAID
  • $129,029 to the Internal Revenue Service through withholding and estimated tax payments during the year — an overpayment of $16,815. The Obamas directed that, rather than receive a refund, the overpayment will be applied to their taxes for next year.
  • $39,875 claimed in income from outside the United States. A White House official said all of that income came from book royalties, but did not disclose details about which countries the income came from.
  • $150,034 — or 24.6 percent of their income — the amount the president and first lady reported donating to 33 charities. That's a slight dip from the previous year, when the Obamas donated more than $172,000.
  • $29,450 income taxes to Illinois, according to their state tax returns.
BIDEN'S TAX RETURNS
The White House also released tax returns for Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, who teaches at Northern Virginia Community College.
The Bidens paid $87,851 in federal income taxes on $385,072 in adjusted gross income, for an effective federal tax rate of 22.8 percent. The vice president and his wife paid state income taxes in two states — $13,531 in Delaware and $3,593 in Virginia. The Bidens overpaid a bit last year in their withholdings, so they'll get a refund of $4,608 from the IRS.
They reported donating $7,190 to charity. The largest sum of $2,400 went to the Catholic Diocese in Wilmington, Del.
The president this week revived his push for wealthier Americans to pay higher taxes, arguing that higher earners like himself should bear a larger share of the burden for deficit reduction. The $3.8 trillion budget blueprint he unveiled Wednesday proposed that "wealthy millionaires pay no less than 30 percent of income, after charitable contribution, in taxes," to ensure that poorer Americans don't get stuck paying higher rates than the wealthy. Obama also proposed a change in the way inflation is calculated that, if proposed, would have the effect of pushing more Americans into higher tax brackets.