Sanders had the following itemized deductions on his 2014 return:
- $22,946 on home mortgage interest
- $14,843 on real estate taxes
- $9,666 on state and local income taxes
- $8,000 in monetary gifts to charity
- $350 in gifts to charity other than by cash or check
- $4,473 of deductible "meals and entertainment expenses" related to his job as a senator, of which he could only deduct $572
- In addition, a portion ($6932) of his social security benefits is not taxable.
There's no secret here: He owns expensive homes and paid quite a bit in mortgage interest and property taxes. These particular deductions are very advantageous to those taxpayers that live in areas with high real estate values.
His taxable income of $140,994 put him at the top of the 25% tax bracket in 2014, but his effective rate (total tax divided by total income) is $27,653 / $205$212,617549 = 13.4%0%
That rate does not include any tax he paid on state or local income tax, social security tax, property tax, or any other tax (other than a small amount of self-employment tax).
As for your taxes, you gave us a number of $150,000. I'll assume that this is your taxable income. You are single, which means that you got a personal exemption of $4050. Your standard deduction is $6,300. This means that your total income is roughly $160,000.
Your effective tax rate is $35,037 / $160,000 = 21.8%.
First of all, you are comparing your income and taxes with those of two other people combined (Sen. and Mrs. Sanders). In addition, as others have said, they have more deductions because they have more expenses than you. They pay more in property tax, more in mortgage interest, and give more to charity than you. You are free to take out a large mortgage and give more to charity, just as they are.