Warren Buffett said his first federal income tax return, for 1944, left him owing $7. He reported income from his newspaper route and deducted $35 for a bicycle, according to his account in Berkshire Hathaway’s 2003 shareholder letter, published in 2004. The exact age he was when he filed is disputed: Buffett’s letter says 13, while other accounts say 14.
How much tax did Buffett owe?
Buffett’s own account puts the bill at $7. He wrote that he sent a check to the Treasury and that it was promptly cashed. In a 2016 statement, he repeated the $7 figure. Berkshire Hathaway’s 2003 shareholder letter
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What was on his 1944 return?
In the letter, Buffett says the three-page return reported income as a newspaper carrier and claimed business deductions, including $35 for a bicycle. He described the filing this way:
“In 1944, I filed my first 1040, reporting my income as a thirteen-year-old newspaper carrier. The return covered three pages. After I claimed the appropriate business deductions, such as $35 for a bicycle, my tax bill was $7. I sent my check to the Treasury and it – without comment – promptly cashed it. We lived in peace.”
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Fortune’s 2026 account gives more detail: it reports total income of $592.50, made up of $364 from the newspaper route and $228 in interest and dividends. Fortune also mentions a $10 watch repair and the $35 bicycle cost. Those additional figures are Fortune’s account, rather than details in the quoted passage from Buffett’s letter. Fortune
How old was Buffett when he filed?
The sources do not agree. Buffett’s 2003 letter and his 2016 statement say he was 13; a PBS NewsHour search result and Fortune’s 2026 report give his age as 14. The shared point is that he filed for tax year 1944 as a young newspaper carrier; the precise age should be attributed to the source rather than stated as settled fact.
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Why was a child filing a return?
Fortune says the historical filing threshold was $500 and that minors were included. That threshold is a figure about the rules described for the period, not current tax guidance. A child’s filing obligation today depends on current rules and circumstances, so the 1944 figure should not be used to decide whether someone must file now.
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