Six years’ worth of publicly accessible federal tax returns from President Trump give us quite the story.
For many retirees, Social Security is a lifeline. Even though the average retired-worker benefit was only $1,975.34 as we rolled into 2025, around 88% of retirees surveyed by Gallup in April 2024 said they rely on it, at least partially, to cover their expenses.
Additionally, updated figures from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reveal that in 2023, Social Security lifted 22 million people past the federal poverty threshold, with 16.31 million of them being adults aged 65 and older.
Any American who has racked up 40 lifetime work credits—and you can earn up to four of these a year—and is at least 62 years old qualifies for Social Security retired-worker benefits. This includes none other than President Donald Trump.
Now, turning to the topic of President Trump’s Social Security status, while tax filings are typically private, it’s a custom for presidential hopefuls and current presidents to make their federal tax returns public, albeit with sensitive details blacked out. This tradition began with President Richard Nixon over fifty years ago and largely persists today.
Donald Trump, however, broke with this norm as he was the only sitting president since Nixon not to publicly disclose any part of his tax returns during his tenure. Nevertheless, a House Ways and Means Committee decision in December 2022 led to the revelation of Trump’s tax documents from 2015 to 2020.
These returns, specifically his Form 1040s with the IRS, showed nothing listed under line 6a, which means he isn’t claiming Social Security benefits, even though he’s eligible.
The situation is quite different for former President Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden. Their joint tax filings reveal they are currently receiving benefits from Social Security.
A look at the Bidens’ 2023 Form 1040 reveals they received $64,254 in benefits, averaging $5,354.50 monthly. A detailed Social Security benefits worksheet publicly available specifies $42,842 went to Joe Biden and $21,412 to Jill Biden. Jill’s smaller amount indicates she is receiving spousal benefits.
About capping monthly benefits for high earners, if Trump were to take up his Social Security benefits, he, like Biden, would encounter these limits.
Social Security benefits are calculated based on four factors. The full retirement age is the age you qualify to collect 100% of your benefits and is determined solely by your birth year, meaning you have no influence over it.
The age when you start collecting benefits can significantly affect your payout. Although you can start as early as 62, waiting has its advantages. Each year you delay—up to age 70—your benefit grows by as much as 8%.
Lastly, your work and earnings history go hand in hand. The SSA considers your 35 top-earning, inflation-adjusted years to determine your benefits. It’s likely that both Trump and Biden hit the earnings tax cap in each of those years considered for their calculations.
This essentially means that even if Trump and Biden consistently pulled in millions annually, their benefits would max out at the program cap at full retirement age. In 2025, that cap is $4,018 per month.
As for taxation, should President Trump decide to collect a Social Security check, he would, like President Biden before him, face the hurdle of having his benefits taxed.
Back in 1983, Social Security’s trust funds were teetering on the edge. To stave off severe benefit reductions, reforms were essential, leading to the creation of the Social Security Amendments of 1983 by a bipartisan effort.
This last sweeping change to Social Security increased payroll taxes and the full retirement age and, crucially, introduced the taxation of benefits.
From 1984, up to 50% of Social Security benefits became federally taxable if provisional income crossed $25,000 for singles or $32,000 for joint filers. In 1993, a second threshold allowed up to 85% of benefits to be taxed if provisional income exceeded $34,000 for individuals or $44,000 for couples.
Initially, these thresholds targeted higher-income households. But with no inflation adjustments over the years, more senior families have been caught in this tax net annually.
In 2023, $54,616 of the Bidens’ $64,254 in benefits were subject to federal taxes. While Trump has suggested he’d prefer to eliminate the taxation of Social Security benefits, he would be subject to this tax if he decided to tap into his monthly benefits.
