Governor Gavin Newsom opened his 2021–2024 tax returns to a handpicked group of journalists, not the public, and the documents raise questions about income consistency, real estate financing, and how the couple sustains an expensive lifestyle despite stagnant reported earnings.
Reporters were allowed to inspect nearly 800 pages of returns for five hours at the governor’s office, with strict restrictions on cameras, phones, photocopies, and smart glasses. What emerged from that limited viewing is a pattern: the Newsoms’ taxable income did not show growth since their previously released returns, and Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s for-profit company, Girls Club Entertainment, posted losses in each year covered. The couple’s reported taxable income sits at a level that does not obviously match the high-cost properties and mortgages tied to their names or LLCs.
The returns indicate taxable income by year as follows, including a one-time windfall from a home sale: 2021: $3.5 million (includes income from the sale of a home in Marin County); 2022: $1.6 million; 2023: $1.4 million; 2024: $1.4 million. For context, their average taxable income from 2015 through 2020 was $1.4 million, with a high of $1.7 million in 2015 and a low of $1.1 million in 2017. Those figures raise straightforward questions about consistency and sources of funds for big-ticket purchases.
Federal and state tax payments reflected that variation in income. The returns show nearly $1.3 million in federal taxes and $184,000 in state income taxes in 2021, driven in large part by the house sale and investments. Tax bills then fell to $760,000 in 2022 and dropped below $600,000 in both 2023 and 2024 while taxable income leveled at roughly $1.4 million. The pattern is what you would expect with a large capital event followed by more ordinary years, but it still leaves room for scrutiny when paired with rising property acquisitions.
The Newsoms paid close to $1.3 million in federal taxes and $184,000 in state income taxes in 2021 owing largely to the windfall from the house sale and other investments. They paid $760,000 in taxes in 2022 as their earnings dropped to $1.6 million. And they paid less than $600,000 in taxes in 2023 and 2024 while making $1.4 million each year.
During the four years under review, reported federal income taxes ranged from $1,253,187 in 2021 down to $488,821 in 2023, while state tax bills varied from $34,307 to $213,331. Annual property tax bills were reported as hovering between $48,000 and $64,300 over the same span. Those are material sums that matter when evaluating cash flow and balance sheet health for a public figure who markets himself as financially transparent.
“Governor Newsom is the first Governor in California history to publicly release tax returns covering every year of his tenure in office. 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.”
That statement from Newsom’s spokesman frames the disclosure as comprehensive, citing a blind trust and an executive order meant to avoid conflicts of interest. Still, the executive order cited does not prevent state entities from interacting with Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s nonprofit, The Representation Project, which remains a relevant detail for anyone weighing conflict questions. The optics of an LLC purchase and individual guarantees on large mortgages complicate the defense that all relevant conflicts have been eliminated.
One notable transaction: Jennifer Siebel Newsom purchased a Marin County property through an LLC for $9.1 million in November 2024 and the LLC later took a $6.5 million mortgage on that mansion. Members of the LLC, including Siebel Newsom and her parents, were required to individually guarantee the note. That raises concrete questions about underwriting and how the LLC qualified for such financing given the reported decreases in her individual income between 2021 and 2023.
The couple’s household spending and liabilities also figure into the picture. They continued to report roughly $190,000 a year on household employees, with childcare costs listed between $14,000 and $44,000 annually. For the years covered by the released returns, the Newsoms carried a $13,000-per-month mortgage on their Fair Oaks estate, demonstrating recurring obligations that must be matched by reliable sources of income or credit facilities.
Reporters were given limited tools while reviewing the files: blank tax forms, paper, and pens were allowed, but no electronic devices or cameras, which restricted independent verification during the session. That limited access and selective release to invited journalists, rather than a public posting, has left many observers skeptical that the full financial picture has been made available. Those concerns are heightened by ongoing reporting about possible investigations that remain unexplained in public filings.
- 2021: $3.5 million (includes income from the sale of a home in Marin County)
- 2022: $1.6 million
- 2023: $1.4 million
- 2024: $1.4 million
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