Zohran Mamdani releases his first mayoral tax returns

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is so eager to raise taxes that he overpaid his own – and got a $7,011 refund on Tax Day

Mamdani and his wife Rama Duwaji ended 2025 with a $27,231 tax bill on their $143,008 adjusted gross income last year, according to a copy of his 2025 tax return. But the return suggests Mamdani was withholding more than necessary on his paycheck as an Assembly member, which earned him the healthy refund.

The release covers his last year as an Assembly member, giving some insight into the 34-year-old democratic socialist mayor’s finances as he urges Gov. Kathy Hochul to raise taxes on the city’s wealthiest earners. Mamdani made $131,296 from his salary as a lawmaker and another $1,642 in royalties from his since-abandoned rap career. Duwaji reported making just $10,010 from her work as a graphic designer before expenses.

Now taking the helm of the city as mayor, Mamdani will rake in a $258,750 annual salary – a hefty increase from his life before. (Though still a far cry from the richest New Yorkers he wants to tax). 

The tax return was shared with reporters to review under the agreement the document itself would not be posted publicly. Mayors have traditionally released their tax returns as a transparency measure, including Eric Adams, whose return showed him writing off rodent mitigation at his Brooklyn rental property. 

Mamdani and Duwaji took the standard deduction rather than itemizing, so the return does not include information on whether Mamdani made charitable contributions in 2025. 

Mamdani earned only limited investment income, reporting $119 in interest from a Municipal Credit Union account and $117 in ordinary dividends from a Fidelity account. Mamdani has family money, thanks to his Columbia University professor father and his movie director mother. He reported in his 2024 personal financial disclosure with the Conflicts of Interest Board that he also owns four acres of land in Uganda.

City Council Speaker Julie Menin declined to provide her tax return, arguing she didn’t have to as speaker. “There is no established precedent for New York City Council Speakers releasing their personal tax returns,” her spokesperson Henry Robins said in a statement. “Like all city elected officials, the Speaker complies with robust financial disclosure requirements that provide transparency into income, assets, and potential conflicts.”

Menin, whose husband co-founded a real estate development firm with business around the country, has faced scrutiny for her immense wealth. Some of her predecessors as speaker did release tax returns to the public, including Melissa Mark-Viverito and Corey Johnson. City & State also requested city Comptroller Mark Levine’s tax return. His office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.