Gavin Newsom promised to release his tax returns every single year in office, but the last one the public has seen covers 2020.
Story Snapshot
- Newsom vowed in 2017 to release his tax returns annually, calling it a “moral duty” for leaders seeking high office.
- His office has not made any returns public since March 2022, and those only covered up through tax year 2020.
- A federal probe reportedly touching Newsom’s wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, has added fuel to questions about the delay.
- Newsom’s team has promised release “in a controlled setting” and by the end of July, but no firm date has stuck.
A Broken Promise From 2017
Gavin Newsom made a bold pledge while running for governor in 2017. He said he would be the first California governor to release his tax returns every single year he served in office. He called it the “moral duty” of any leader seeking the highest offices in the land. That promise is now nearly a decade old, and it has not aged well for a governor with national ambitions.
Newsom kept that promise for a while. He was the first candidate to release tax returns in the 2018 governor’s race, and he shared his 2019 filings during his re-election run. That early track record is exactly why the current silence stands out. A governor who once used disclosure as a campaign selling point has now gone years without showing the public a single new return.
Three Years And Counting Since The Last Filing
CalMatters reported that Newsom last disclosed a tax return nearly three years ago, in March 2022, and that filing only covered him through the 2020 tax year. When the outlet asked his office directly for anything more recent, a spokesperson simply declined to provide it. That is not a technical gap. That is a governor sitting on records he swore he would hand over automatically.
The New York Post and other outlets have kept pressing the same point through 2026, reporting that Newsom has not publicly disclosed returns beyond tax year 2020 and has released nothing further since 2022. Multiple newsrooms asking the same question and getting the same non-answer is not a coincidence. It is a pattern, and patterns build public distrust fast.
Promises Of A “Controlled Setting” Instead Of Real Answers
Newsom spokesman Nathan Click told CalMatters the governor’s team would eventually arrange a review of the documents “in a controlled setting.” He did not give a date. A controlled setting is not the same as a public release. It means reporters might get to look at papers under conditions set by Newsom’s own staff, not the open transparency he promised voters back in 2017.
More recently, Newsom’s office has said the returns are being “prepared” for release, with some reports pointing to an end-of-July target. That deadline has come and gone before without a real document appearing. Every new promise without a delivered return chips away at the credibility of the original pledge, and voters have every right to ask why a “moral duty” keeps getting postponed.
A Federal Probe Adds To The Suspicion
The delay is unfolding while reports swirl about a federal investigation touching the finances of Newsom’s wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom. Newsom has pushed back hard on reporters who bring up the missing returns, at times turning the conversation toward President Trump instead of answering directly. Deflecting to national politics does not make the outstanding tax returns disappear, and it does not answer the simple question voters keep asking: where are they?
Newsom’s Tax Deadline Arrives
Gavin Newsom promised to release his remaining tax returns by the end of July.
Tomorrow is the last day of the month.
His office said two weeks ago the records “will be shared this month.” So far, nothing has been released.
The last public… https://t.co/i4b2sSJCPF pic.twitter.com/cTK8mEUVP9
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) July 31, 2026
To be fair, nothing in the public record proves the unreleased returns hide any wrongdoing, and legal experts note Newsom is not required by law to release them at all. But that legal technicality cuts both ways. Newsom chose to make this a moral pledge, not a legal one, and California voters are entitled to hold him to his own standard, especially as he weighs a run for higher office.
Why This Matters Beyond California
Newsom signed a state law in 2019 requiring presidential and gubernatorial candidates to release five years of tax returns just to appear on California’s primary ballot. He built his entire brand on demanding this exact kind of transparency from others. A governor eyeing the White House who cannot follow his own transparency rule gives conservatives a clear, factual example of do-as-I-say leadership rather than do-as-I-do accountability.
Sources:
nypost.com, calmatters.org, freebeacon.com, instagram.com
