Cheney income tops Bush 12-fold

But the Cheneys donated 6.9 million dollars of their income to charity, cutting their net income to a more manageable 1.96 million dollars -- meaning that they will get a tax refund of 1.9 million dollars.

The president and his wife Laura Bush reported a net income, after charitable donations and other deductions, of 618,694 dollars for 2005, of which 400,000 came from his White House salary.

Their income was down from 672,788 dollars declared last year.

The presidential couple gave 75,560 dollars to charities during the year, including relief funds after Hurricane Katrina last August and to help Pakistan after its devastating earthquake last year.

Their net income left them with a federal tax bill of 187,768 dollars.

Cheney's stock options from his previous stint as chief executive at oil services firm Halliburton pushed his and his wife Lynne's combined gross income to 8.82 million dollars.