WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill reported earnings for 2021, their first year in the White House, that were roughly in line with the previous year at an effective federal income tax rate of 24.6 per cent, the White House said on Friday (April 15).

The Bidens reported federal adjusted gross income of US$610,702 (S$828,966) and paid US$150,439 in federal income tax. The previous year, when Mr Biden was running for president, they reported US$607,336 in income.

Mr Biden earned US$378,333 with his presidential salary, slightly below what would normally be US$400,000 in pay because he entered office on Jan 20. Mrs Biden earned US$67,116 from her job teaching at Northern Virginia Community College.

"With this release, the president has shared a total of 24 years of tax returns with the American public, once again demonstrating his commitment to being transparent with the American people about the finances of the commander in chief," the White House said in a statement.

Mr Biden's predecessor, former President Donald Trump, declined to release his returns, saying he was not able to do so while being audited by the Internal Revenue Service, even as the agency claimed he was free to release them.

The Bidens donated US$17,394 to 10 charities, including US$5,000 to the Beau Biden Foundation, which works to prevent child abuse. Beau Biden, the president's son, died of cancer in 2015.

Vice-President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, reported federal adjusted gross income of US$1,655,563, the White House said, paying US$523,371 in federal income tax for an effective federal income tax rate of 31.6 per cent. Mr Emhoff stepped down from his law firm in 2021 and the firm is paying back his partnership stake over a number of years, a White House spokesperson said.