What’s in Gov. Newsom’s recent tax returns?
The governor allowed journalists to review the couple’s personal income tax returns from 2021 to 2024 with pen and paper only
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom are still multi-millionaires, thanks to Newsom’s hospitality business and other investments, but their income has dipped since Newsom became governor, their latest personal tax returns show.
The governor allowed journalists to review the couple’s personal income tax returns from 2021 to 2024 with pen and paper only. Cameras, phones, photocopies, and smart glasses were strictly prohibited. KCRA 3 was the only television news organization to review the 718 total pages worth of documents.
The couple has filed an extension for their 2025 taxes, so that year was not available for review.
The latest set of returns show their income has decreased by about 18% since Newsom took office in 2019. Their income was $1.7 million that year.
In 2021, the couple reported $3.5 million in taxable income; $1.58 million of that is from the sale of their Marin County home. The rest of their income is driven mostly by long-term investments and income from Newsom’s wine and hospitality businesses, which are in a blind trust. A very small percentage of their income is from wages and the nonprofit organizations they oversee.
In 2022, the tax return shows the couple made $1.6 million in taxable income. In 2023, the number dipped to $1.39 million. In 2024 the figure stayed at $1.39 million.
Siebel Newsom reported self-employment wages from non-profit Girls Club Entertainment LLC in 2021 at $100,000. The business lost money in the following years with losses of $37,393 in 2022, $8,844 in 2023, and $15,578 in 2024.
Siebel Newsom’s wages from her other nonprofit, The Representation Project, were steady at about $150,000 a year.
Wages also included Newsom’s pay for his job as governor of California, which ranged from $167,647 in 2021 to $192,087 in 2024.
The governor and his wife do not have cryptocurrency assets or foreign accounts. They also did not receive large public speaking or consulting fees.
Over the four-year period, the couple paid a federal tax rate ranging from 30 to 35%, or between $1.2 million to $488,821. They paid between $184,381 to $68,223 in state taxes.
The governor’s office said the family donated tens of thousands of dollars to charity over the years, but specific organizations that received cash were not reflected in the tax returns.
In 2022, Newsom donated thousands of dollars of Armani business wear to Restorative Justice of Youth in Oakland. In 2023, the Newsoms donated thousands of dollars’ worth of clothing to Dress for Success in San Francisco. That year they also donated toys, furniture, books, an appliance and other household goods to Goodwill in Sacramento.
The governor’s office said the couple shared the tax returns as “part of their longstanding commitment to transparency.”
California law does not require Newsom to continue disclosing his taxes, but the governor has promised in the past to release his returns. State law has required candidates for governor to release their tax returns.
“Governor Newsom is the first Governor in California history to publicly release tax returns covering every year of his tenure in office,” said Izzy Gardon, a spokesman for Newsom. “That’s on top of placing his assets in a blind trust and signing a day-one executive order barring state agencies from doing business with his businesses. Meanwhile, Donald Trump is openly cashing in on the presidency — cutting business deals from the Oval Office and enriching himself and his family. The contrast is glaring, and the double standard is absurd.”
The return release also comes as the governor and his wife are at the center of an apparent FBI investigation. Law enforcement sources have said one of the investigations is related to the tax activity of Siebel Newsom’s nonprofits, not her personal taxes.
KCRA 3 Political Director Ashley Zavala reports in-depth coverage of top California politics and policy issues. She is also the host of “California Politics 360.” Get informed each Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on KCRA 3.