Trump files for 2016 tax return extension

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump filed for an extension on his 2016 tax return, the White House said Saturday.

Press secretary Sean Spicer did not provide information on when Trump sought the extension or why.

Tax Day this year was on April 18. The Internal Revenue Service allows individuals and businesses to apply for a six-month extension to get more time to file a return. An extension does not provide more time to pay taxes.

As a candidate and as president, Trump has refused to release his tax returns, breaking a decadeslong tradition. He has said he would release them when the Internal Revenue Service completes an audit — though experts and IRS officials said such audits don’t bar taxpayers from releasing their returns.

The few Trump tax returns the public has seen weren’t released by him, but disclosed by news outlets. Two leaked pages of his 2005 return that came out in March didn’t include full details on income and deductions, but did show that he would have benefited massively by an elimination of the alternative minimum tax.

And three pages that surfaced last year showed he had claimed a $916 million loss on his 1995 return, which could be used to reduce his taxes by offsetting later gains.