• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Farm groups saved Bayer in court over RoundUp cancer claims. Five days later, Bayer called for tariffs on the ingredient farmers rely on

2

Billionaire MacKenzie Scott just donated $20 million to support America’s youth mental health, as a fifth of teens struggle with suicidal thoughts

3

Self-made multimillionaire says Canadians 'give no money away' compared with Americans—research shows U.S. giving is more than twice as high

1

Farm groups saved Bayer in court over RoundUp cancer claims. Five days later, Bayer called for tariffs on the ingredient farmers rely on

2

Billionaire MacKenzie Scott just donated $20 million to support America’s youth mental health, as a fifth of teens struggle with suicidal thoughts

3

Self-made multimillionaire says Canadians 'give no money away' compared with Americans—research shows U.S. giving is more than twice as high
FinanceTaxes

Donald Trump’s 2005 IRS Filing Shows He May Have Understated His Salary by Millions

By
Stephen Gandel
Stephen Gandel
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Stephen Gandel
Stephen Gandel
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 15, 2017, 7:25 AM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Donald Trump’s newly leaked tax documents again showed a huge gap between what the president appears to actually earn, what he claims to earn, and what he reports to the IRS.

In fact, the difference between the salary he reported to the tax authorities for 2005 (about $1 million) and what he earned that year appears to be as large as $3.5 million, and could be a good deal more.

Indeed, this pay gap could be the thorniest issue that arises for the president from Rachel Maddow’s big Trump tax scoop, which included the disclosure of two pages from Donald Trump’s 2005 tax return.

Trump has refused to release his full tax returns—breaking with a tradition for presidential candidates and presidents that goes back to Richard Nixon. But the publication on Tuesday night of a portion of Trump’s 2005 tax return is the second time in less that six months that details have emerged about what Trump may have actually paid, or not paid, to Uncle Sam over the years. In October, the New York Times published a number of key pages from Trump’s 1995 state tax returns.

Fortune was the first to report, last fall, that what Trump reported as “wages, salaries, tip, etc.” in 1995, a mere $6,108, was wildly different what other publicly available documents say Trump earned that year. In fact, Trump likely earned at least $4.8 million in salary that year.

For 2005, Trump reported to the IRS that he made $998,599 in salary, including wages and tips. That was again less than what other publicly available documents, and Trump’s own public statements, suggest that he earned that year. For instance, according to financial reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, that same year Trump received $2.2 million in salary and other compensation from Trump Entertainment Resorts, the casino company Trump had taken public a decade earlier. The figure comes from a proxy statement that the company filed in early 2006.

Compensation table in Trump Entertainment Resorts 2006 proxy filing

Trump representatives could not be reach for comment. But in a statement responding to Tuesday’s release of Trump’s 2005 tax documents, a White House official said that Trump had a responsibility to “his company, his family and his employees” to pay no more tax than he was legally obligated.

And $2.2 million is not all Trump was likely paid by his casino company in 2005, a year in which he transitioned from being Trump Entertainment’s CEO to chairman. Under a service agreement, Trump was entitled to receive an additional $2 million annually from the casino company on top of his regular salary. Trump was also entitled under the service agreement to be reimbursed for his expenses related to the company.

Nonetheless, the 2006 proxy statement states Trump’s other compensation from the company as $1.3 million. So it’s not clear if Trump collected his full $2 million fee that year, or whether it was excluded from the company’s compensation table.

There’s more. The casino company in 2005 also paid Trump and his entities $337,000 for use of Trump’s airplane and golf-course to entertain the casino’s high rollers. The payment also went toward covering the lease on office space in Trump Tower in New York City.

In all, Trump’s casino company appears to have paid him and companies he controlled at least $2.5 million in 2005, and as much as $4.5 million. Not all of that would have been considered salary, but a big chuck of it would have been, thus pushing his true salary well about the reported $998,599.

And that’s just what Trump was paid by his casino company. Trump has publicly bragged that he made big bucks off his once popular business reality television show The Apprentice. By 2005, Trump was into his third and fourth seasons staring in the reality show. In an election financial disclosure form in 2015, Trump disclosed that he was paid $215 million over 14 seasons of The Apprentice, or an average of $15 million per season (though that number no doubt varied over the course of the program’s life).

Though the exact amount is unknown, Trump likely collected many millions from The Apprentice that year. It’s not clear where those payments show up on his tax filings. Trump did claim over $67 million in royalties, which include some of what he made off the show. But direct payments for appearing on television shows are normally recorded as wages, not other income.

Trump’s effort to report as little income as possible to the IRS was likely a perfectly legal way to lower his tax bill. And the tax documents revealed on Tuesday show that Trump likely paid more taxes that others have previously thought—$38 million in 2005 alone. But whether Trump paid as much taxes as he actually owed to the federal government is still a question that is up in the air.

About the Author
By Stephen Gandel
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Finance

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Finance

49% of young adults live at home, up 12 points since 2019. An economist says the fallout will reshape marriage, kids, and home-buying
Economybehavioral economics
49% of young adults live at home, up 12 points since 2019. An economist says the fallout will reshape marriage, kids, and home-buying
By Catherina GioinoJuly 9, 2026
9 hours ago
Trump cheers Gwynne Shotwell as Elon Musk’s SpaceX No. 2 gives $325 million in stock to Trump Accounts
North AmericaSpaceX
Trump cheers Gwynne Shotwell as Elon Musk’s SpaceX No. 2 gives $325 million in stock to Trump Accounts
By Mia OsmonbekovJuly 9, 2026
10 hours ago
Peter Cancro shakes oregano over an open sandwich.
RetailFood and drink
Jersey Mike’s $12 billion IPO filing reveals a $50 million payday for the founder’s stepson and a $41 million jet
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 9, 2026
11 hours ago
Farm groups saved Bayer in court over RoundUp cancer claims. Five days later, Bayer called for tariffs on the ingredient farmers rely on
EconomyMonsanto
Farm groups saved Bayer in court over RoundUp cancer claims. Five days later, Bayer called for tariffs on the ingredient farmers rely on
By Mia OsmonbekovJuly 9, 2026
12 hours ago
Fed’s Williams says AI is now his main inflation concern
EconomyFederal Reserve
Fed’s Williams says AI is now his main inflation concern
By Maria Eloisa Capurro and BloombergJuly 9, 2026
12 hours ago
Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott
SuccessBillionaires
Billionaire MacKenzie Scott just donated $20 million to support America’s youth mental health, as a fifth of teens struggle with suicidal thoughts
By Emma BurleighJuly 9, 2026
13 hours ago

Most Popular

Farm groups saved Bayer in court over RoundUp cancer claims. Five days later, Bayer called for tariffs on the ingredient farmers rely on
Economy
Farm groups saved Bayer in court over RoundUp cancer claims. Five days later, Bayer called for tariffs on the ingredient farmers rely on
By Mia OsmonbekovJuly 9, 2026
12 hours ago
Billionaire MacKenzie Scott just donated $20 million to support America’s youth mental health, as a fifth of teens struggle with suicidal thoughts
Success
Billionaire MacKenzie Scott just donated $20 million to support America’s youth mental health, as a fifth of teens struggle with suicidal thoughts
By Emma BurleighJuly 9, 2026
13 hours ago
Self-made multimillionaire says Canadians 'give no money away' compared with Americans—research shows U.S. giving is more than twice as high
Success
Self-made multimillionaire says Canadians 'give no money away' compared with Americans—research shows U.S. giving is more than twice as high
By Preston ForeJuly 9, 2026
13 hours ago
Ex-PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi worked from midnight until 5 a.m. as a receptionist to pay for her Yale degree—and she says ‘respect went up’ because of it
Success
Ex-PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi worked from midnight until 5 a.m. as a receptionist to pay for her Yale degree—and she says ‘respect went up’ because of it
By Preston ForeJuly 6, 2026
4 days ago
Current price of oil as of July 9, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of July 9, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 9, 2026
16 hours ago
Current price of gold as of July 8, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of July 8, 2026
By Danny BakstJuly 8, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.