Image copyright Shutterstock Image caption The New York Times alleged that Mr Trump helped cut his parents' tax bill (1992 photo)

The New York State Tax Department has confirmed it is investigating claims by the New York Times that President Trump helped his parents dodge millions of dollars in taxes.

The paper has alleged that the president was involved in "dubious tax schemes during the 1990s, including instances of outright fraud".

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders called the story a "misleading attack".

She said the transactions were signed off by tax authorities "decades ago".

The president's lawyer Charles Harder said in a statement: "There was no fraud or tax evasion by anyone. The facts upon which The Times bases its false allegations are extremely inaccurate."

What does the paper allege about the president?

Mr Trumphas repeatedly styled himself as a self-made billionaire who got little help from his wealthy father's property empire.

But in a special investigation based on more than 100,000 pages of documents, the New York Times alleges that the president actually received the equivalent of $413m (£318m).

"By age 3, Mr Trump was earning $200,000 a year in today's dollars from his father's empire," it states. "He was a millionaire by age 8."

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Donald Trump's father Fred Trump (R) amassed a fortune as a New York real estate developer

The report claims Mr Trump was getting the equivalent of $1m a year from his father shortly after he graduated from college.

That figure had risen to more than $5m by the time he was in his 40s and