Adams releases first tax returns as mayor

NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams paid $56,074 in taxes on $245,324 in his salary, pension and rental income last year, according to a copy of his 2021 tax returns provided by his office.

The release, which covers his last year as Brooklyn borough president, sought to shed light on his mysterious personal life, after questions about his finances and living arrangements shaped the Democratic mayoral primary last year.

His total income was offset by $13,347 in deductions, making for an effective tax rate of 24 percent. And his returns show he slightly underpaid his taxes last year on estimated quarterly payments, forcing him to cough up an extra $93 in penalties and interest.

The 24-page form was filed several months late, in accordance with an extension from the IRS, and shows Adams has made an effort to clean up his murky personal financial disclosures since becoming mayor.

On the campaign trail last year, intrigue swirled around the mysterious private life of a man vying for a highly public job — a situation underscored by conflicting information on financial disclosures, tax documents and other personal forms.

It didn’t help matters that his longtime accountant had been evicted from his apartment, did business out of a nonexistent midtown office and filed Adams’ previous returns despite not holding a license. The preparer, Clarence Harley, made several errors that required Adams to amend years of prior returns.

Since ascending from borough president to mayor, Adams has replaced Harley with licensed public accountant Edgar James.

His tax returns now list the income from renting out part of the multifamily Brooklyn home he continues to call his official residence. In past years, he left any mention of rental earnings off his IRS returns — pointing to advice from Harley that he needn’t report it, since he ended up taking a loss on the property.

On last year’s returns he reported making $24,600 in rent on the four-unit house — a drop from the $36,000 he collected in 2019 — though that sum was largely offset by expenses. His spokesperson, Fabien Levy, said one of his tenants had since departed.

Adams declined to release his 2020 returns while on the trail last year, and refused to turn them over this week. He also declined to show his previously amended filings.

Adams has yet to resolve two complaints filed last year that alleged illegal construction at the Brooklyn house. Both remain on file with the city Department of Buildings, and Levy said the mayor is working to rectify the situation.

The mayor also made no mention on his tax returns of earning royalties from his book, “Healthy At Last,” despite documenting income of up to $50,000 for the 2021 tax year on a mandatory financial disclosure with a city ethics board. Levy said the income was received by the mayor’s ghostwriter, and that Adams reported it to the ethics watchdog out of “an abundance of caution.”