14 Things First Ladies Have to Pay for on Their Own. How Many Can You Guess, Floridians?

The First Lady of the United States gets the White House. She gets the chef. She gets Marine One and Air Force One when she travels.

What she doesn’t get is a paycheck.

The position has been around since Martha Washington, and not one First Lady in U.S. history has ever earned a government salary.

On top of that, a long list of personal expenses comes directly out of the family budget.

Here are 14 things First Ladies have to pay for on their own.

Their Own Designer Wardrobe

The First Lady is expected to look camera-ready every single day, with custom designer gowns for state dinners and inaugurations.

She pays for all of it.

There’s no clothing allowance. No federal stipend. No taxpayer-funded fashion budget.

Laura Bush dropped $8,500 on a single red lace Oscar de la Renta gown for the Kennedy Center Honors in 2006.

Michelle Obama’s designer dresses regularly ran into five figures.

For state events, designers sometimes donate clothing as a gift to the United States, but those pieces go to the National Archives and don’t stay with the First Lady when she leaves office.

Their Family’s Groceries

The White House comes with a full kitchen staff and an executive chef.

What it doesn’t come with is free food.

The First Family pays for every meal that isn’t an official state function. Michelle Obama confirmed this on Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2018, calling it “a little shocking” but fair.

“Rent is free, staff is free. We shouldn’t be mooching off the taxpayers,” she said.

The White House usher’s office sends a monthly bill to the First Family covering groceries, personal meals, and household consumables.

Their Personal Hair Styling and Makeup

The First Lady is on camera constantly, but the hair and makeup team comes out of her own pocket.

Laura Bush hired her own personal hairstylist for daily blowouts. The Bush family paid for it.

Michelle Obama paid for her own hair styling and makeup throughout her time in the White House.

Melania Trump does the same.

For a job that requires looking polished from sunrise to midnight, the salon bills add up to real money over four or eight years.

Their Private Parties at the White House

Official state dinners are paid for by taxpayers. Private parties are not.

When Michelle Obama threw her 50th birthday party at the White House, the Obamas personally paid for the food, drinks, waitstaff, setup, and cleanup crew.

Birthday parties, anniversary celebrations, family gatherings, and holiday parties for friends. All of it comes out of the First Family’s budget.

The First Lady plans them. The First Family pays for them.

Their Dry Cleaning

The designer gowns and tailored outfits the First Lady wears come with a dry cleaning bill, and that bill belongs to the First Family.

Some Washington, D.C. dry cleaner ends up with the personal laundry of the First Lady of the United States.

It sounds like a small expense.

But with the volume of wear, the formal fabrics, and the security protocols around moving the items in and out, it adds up.

The taxpayer doesn’t cover lint rollers.

Their Household Toiletries and Personal Items

Toothpaste. Shampoo. Deodorant. Cleaning supplies. The basic items that fill any household medicine cabinet and pantry.

All of it.

The White House provides the residence and the staff. It doesn’t provide the basic personal care items every household needs.

The First Family stocks the medicine cabinets out of their own budget, just like anyone else.

Their Personal Pets’ Care and Veterinary Bills

Every modern First Family has brought pets to the White House, from Barney Bush to Bo and Sunny Obama to Champ and Major Biden.

The pets are personal.

Food, grooming, vet visits, medications, and pet supplies all come out of the First Family’s own pocket. The White House doesn’t have a pet care budget.

When the Obamas brought Bo home as a gift from Senator Ted Kennedy in 2009, they paid for his food, his grooming, and every checkup at the local Washington, D.C. vet.

Same for the Bidens’ German Shepherds. Same for Barney and Miss Beazley under the Bush administration.

Even the family dog pays his own way at the White House.

Their Personal Phone Plans and Subscriptions

The First Family has access to secure government communications for official business, but personal cell phones, personal email accounts, and personal subscriptions come out of the family budget.

Netflix. Spotify. Amazon Prime. The personal cell phone plan.

All of it on the family bill, same as any other American household.

For grown children who live with the First Family at the White House, that often means multiple lines on a family plan, each with its own monthly charge.

The most powerful family in the country still has a Verizon bill.

Their Personal Legal and Financial Advisors

The White House has its own counsel for official matters, but personal legal and financial issues belong to the First Family.

Tax preparation. Estate planning. Personal trusts. Investment advisors. Family law issues.

All paid for privately.

The Obamas reportedly spent six figures on personal legal and financial advisors during their White House years, according to their published tax returns and disclosures.

The Clintons faced massive personal legal bills tied to investigations during their time in office, paid largely through private legal defense funds raised from supporters.

The First Family’s personal financial life doesn’t get a federal accountant.

Their Personal Travel That Isn’t Official Business

When the First Lady travels for official duties, taxpayers cover the flight, the security, and the lodging.

When she takes a personal trip, the rules change.

The travel itself uses government aircraft for security reasons, but the First Family is required to reimburse the government for the equivalent commercial airfare.

Lodging, meals, and personal expenses on those trips come out of their own pocket.

A weekend visit to family. A personal vacation. A non-official social trip.

Those bills aren’t free.

Their Gifts for Foreign Dignitaries and Friends

When foreign leaders visit the United States, the First Lady is often involved in selecting personal gifts on behalf of the First Family.

The taxpayer covers official state gifts, but personal gestures, especially to friends or extended diplomatic contacts, sometimes come out of pocket.

Personal Christmas gifts. Wedding presents. Birthday gifts for staff and friends.

The First Lady pays.

Their Personal Decor in the Private Residence

Each new First Family gets a federal allowance of $100,000 to redecorate the private residence and the Oval Office. The allowance has been at that level since 1999.

Most First Families blow through that figure quickly.

Anything above the federal allowance gets paid by the First Family directly, or through private donations to a redecoration fund.

The Obamas famously declined the $100,000 allowance entirely and paid for their redecorating with their own money, an estimated $1.5 million.

Decor in the private residence isn’t optional. It’s where the family actually lives, and most of it comes out of their own pocket.

Their Children’s Private School Tuition

First Family children often attend private school in Washington, D.C., and that tuition comes out of the family budget.

Sidwell Friends, the school where Sasha and Malia Obama attended, costs over $50,000 a year per child as of recent tuition data.

The Obamas paid it.

So did the Bushes, the Clintons, and the Trumps for their school-age children.

Public schools are an option, but most First Families have chosen private schools for the security and structure that come with them.

Either way, the tuition checks come from the family checking account.

Their Own Hobbies, Recreation, and Personal Pursuits

The First Lady has access to White House grounds, the swimming pool, the bowling alley, the movie theater, and Camp David.

What she pays for is anything personal she wants to do outside of that.

Personal travel for hobbies. Books. Subscriptions. Gym memberships outside the White House. Personal gifts to herself.

Michelle Obama famously took up gardening at the White House and turned it into a national initiative, but personal hobbies that don’t tie to an official platform come out of her own pocket.

Their Income Taxes on All of It

First Ladies don’t earn a federal salary, but the First Family still owes federal income tax on every dollar the President earns and every dollar of investment or business income they receive.

That includes the President’s $400,000 salary, book deal advances, speaking fees from past careers, and any business income.

The tax bills can be substantial.

The Obamas paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal income tax during their White House years, reported through their joint return.

The First Lady doesn’t get a tax break for being the First Lady.

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