Newsoms show financial picture in four years of tax returns

(The Center Square) – California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, released the last four years of tax returns late last week, providing a glimpse into their financial life over the last four years of Newsom’s time in office.

The couple’s annual finances remained relatively stable, with the exception of 2021, when they saw a bump in their income because of the sale of their Marin County house.

In 2021, the Newsoms earned $3,558,085 in taxable income, with $417,816 coming from wages and salary. The first couple of California made $1,060,543 in capital gains, and their adjusted gross income was $4,207,113. Their total income that year was $4,210,160. 

They made additional income from rental real estate, royalties, partnerships, trusts and "S" corporations in the amount of $2,722,646. The "S" refers to a type of federal tax status for small businesses.

Newsom also wrote a children’s book published in 2021, "Ben and Emma’s Big Hit." He made $20,386 in income from that book, according to his tax returns from 2021.

The Newsoms also profited from the sale of their house in 2021, which they bought in November 2011. They sold it on May 24, 2021, making $763,794 from the sale.

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In 2022, the couple made $1,595,300 in taxable income. They also earned additional income of $1,294,469. Newsom made $1,204 in income from his children’s book published the year before. Siebel Newsom, who filed taxes that year as an actress and producer, reported $90 of gross profit.

In 2023, the Newsoms reported a joint taxable income of $1,391,454 and additional income of $1,333,042. Newsom made $70,000 in gross profit from the sale of his children’s book, although net profit was reported as $51,000. Siebel Newsom reported $30 of income as an actress and producer that year.

In 2024, the Newsoms reported $1,391,034 in taxable income, with additional income in the amount of $1,278,557. Newsom’s author income was $75,000 of gross profit and $8,500 in tentative net profit.

California’s first couple previously released five years’ worth of tax returns when the governor ran for office in 2022, in line with California’s financial disclosure laws that require the governor to publicly report his sources of income, investments, gifts, business interests, property and other financial holdings every year.

According to the California Department of Human Resources, which lists the annual salaries of state politicians, the governor’s 2026 salary is $245,929. Newsom’s salary in 2025 was $242,295, up from $234,101 in 2023. His salary in 2022 was $224,020, up from his 2021 salary of $218,556. Siebel Newsom does not receive a salary for her role as "first partner of California."