Obamas earn $5.5M in 2009, paid $1.8M in federal tax

WASHINGTON - Thanks to revived book sales after he became president, Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, made $5.5 million last year. They paid about one-third of it in federal income taxes.

The Obamas gave $329,100 to charities in 2009. The president, who released his tax returns yesterday, also donated his entire $1.4 million Nobel Peace Prize award to 10 charitable groups. He never received the $1.4 million, and it was not included in his 2009 income.

Obama, a former law school instructor and U.S. senator, became a millionaire a few years ago through sales of his 1995 memoir, "Dreams From My Father," and his 2006 political book, "The Audacity of Hope." He earned about $4 million in royalties in 2007, the year he launched his presidential campaign.

Obama's January inauguration as the nation's first black president seemed to revive interest in his books. Royalties in 2009 more than doubled the previous year's amount.

Obama is paid $400,000 a year as president, although he received $374,460 last year because he took office on Jan. 20. The Obamas paid nearly $1.8 million in federal income tax last year, and $163,303 in Illinois income tax.

Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, reported an adjusted gross income of $333,182 for 2009. They paid $71,147 in federal income taxes, $12,420 in Delaware income taxes and $1,477 in Virginia income taxes.