By law, the president’s tax returns while he is in office are automatically audited. Citing those audits, the White House has declined to release the president’s in-office tax returns. | Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo Trump files for an extension on his taxes

Count President Donald Trump among the Americans who won’t meet Tuesday’s deadline for filing his tax returns.

The White House confirmed Tuesday that the president has filed for an extension on his taxes, although a spokesman did not immediately respond to a follow-up question as to whether Trump had filed for extra time on his federal or state taxes. The extension deadline for both federal taxes and New York state taxes is Oct. 15.


The White House spokesman also did not immediately offer a reason why Trump was unable to meet Tuesday's tax deadline, although White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told a reporter that the president had "filed an extension ... as do many Americans with complex returns."

Trump’s taxes have been an issue since he launched his 2016 presidential campaign, during which he broke with decades of tradition by refusing to release his tax returns, a step candidates from both parties have taken for years. Trump said his tax returns were under audit, in part because of their complexity resulting from his significant wealth, and that he would only release them once that audit was completed.

By law, the president’s tax returns while he is in office are automatically audited. Citing those audits, the White House has declined to release the president’s in-office tax returns.

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Despite the president’s refusal to release them, bits and pieces of the president’s tax history have made their way into the public domain. The New York Times obtained a copy of Trump’s 1995 tax return, which showed he reported a nearly $1 billion loss that year, an amount that could conceivably have allowed him to avoid paying federal income taxes for as many as 18 years.

A portion of Trump’s 2005 tax return, obtained by journalist David Cay Johnston and broadcast on MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show,” showed Trump paid roughly $38 million in taxes on $153 million in income.

