Corporate Tax Avoidance
314 companies avoided $147,545,030,000 in federal income tax on $1.1 trillion of profit in 2025
314 companies avoided $147,545,030,000 in federal income tax on $1.1 trillion of profit in 2025
314 companies avoided
$147,545,030,000
in federal income tax on $1.1 trillion
of profit in 2025
With earnings season now underway, dozens of huge corporations have disclosed paying single-digit federal income tax rates thanks to tax cuts included in President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, and Tesla collectively avoided $51 billion in federal income tax for 2025. Tesla and Palantir reported paying zero federal income tax at all.
President Trump’s 2017 tax law and the recently passed OBBBA have led to substantial tax avoidance from the nation’s largest corporations. Corporate profits continue to soar while corporate tax avoidance reaches extreme levels. That’s why reforming the corporate income tax and closing loopholes is so critical to a fair tax code.
Top Three Federal Tax Avoiders
Alphabet
Reported federal tax rate: 8.01%
Federal Tax breaks include
- Depreciation Deduction$3.3 billion
- FDII Deduction$3.9 billion
- R&D Credit$2.1 billion
- Stock Options$2.6 billion
Amazon.com
Reported federal tax rate: 1.37%
Federal Tax breaks include
- Depreciation Deduction$6.5 billion
- R&D Credit$2.4 billion
- Stock Options$2.6 billion
Meta
Reported federal tax rate: 3.57%
Federal Tax breaks include
- R&D Expensing$12.6 billion
- Depreciation Deduction$4.9 billion
- R&D Credit$3.9 billion
- Stock Options$4.3 billion
Recent Filings
Shift4 Payments
Reported federal tax rate: 2.45%
Federal Tax breaks include
- Depreciation Deduction$1 million
- R&D Credit$1 million
Everpure
Reported federal tax rate: 0.79%
Federal Tax breaks include
- R&D Expensing$56.2 million
- Depreciation Deduction$34.7 million
- R&D Credit$41.8 million
- Stock Options$46.8 million
Ralph Lauren
Reported federal tax rate: 11.87%
Federal Tax breaks include
- FDII Deduction$18.1 million
- Stock Options$19.5 million
- Other Tax Credits$1.3 million
Vertiv Holdings
Reported federal tax rate: 14.69%
Federal Tax breaks include
- Depreciation Deduction$39.9 million
- Stock Options$26.1 million
- Interest Deduction Carryforward$2.6 million
Valley National Bancorp
Reported federal tax rate: 10.06%
Federal Tax breaks include
- R&D Credit$50.7 million
- Other Tax Credits$5.9 million
Waters
Reported federal tax rate: 10.68%
Federal Tax breaks include
- Tax Credits$6.7 million
Companies are included here only if review of their 10-K filing for the 2025 fiscal year indicates that they avoided paying some amount of federal income taxes. Companies are counted as avoiding federal income tax if they are based in the US, reported a domestic pretax profit, and their federal ETR is less than the statutory 21%. Total tax avoided is the sum of the difference between the amount each company paid in federal income tax and 21% of their pretax profits. Individual tax reduction items are listed only for companies with a federal ETR below 15%.
Publications on Corporate Tax Avoidance (View All)
Major Oil and Gas Corporations Pay Little in U.S. Tax
The oil and gas industry has long been known for widespread tax avoidance. Now, thanks to new disclosure rules, we have a better picture of how this occurs.
Jeff Bezos’ Amazon Received Almost 10 Percent of Corporate Tax Subsidies Last Year
Amazon received $17.5 billion in tax subsidies in 2025. That’s about 10% of all federal income tax subsidies for publicly traded corporations in 2025.
Progressives Need a Slight Course Correction on Tax Policy
Corporate tax reforms should be the backbone of any progressive tax agenda and should be counted on to remain if other changes to our tax code are later thwarted by any of the three branches of government.
A Resilient Framework for Corporate Tax Reform
The next time Congress is serious about making the wealthiest pay their fair share in federal taxes, they will need to make three key changes to the federal corporate income tax so that it applies effectively to all the businesses that generate their income.
Amidst Soaring Tech Earnings, Meta and Qualcomm Disclose a $13.7 Billion Tax Gift from Trump Administration
Both companies acknowledge that they will save billions because of the Trump administration's weakening of the Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax (CAMT). Meta and Qualcomm are just two of the corporations that will benefit from this corporate tax cut provided unilaterally by the Trump's Treasury Department.
The Washington Post Is Wrong: Many Rich Americans Are Not Paying Their Fair Share
Bezos' hand-picked editorial board argues that our tax code does not need to be more progressive because the share of federal income tax paid by the rich already exceeds their share of income. This is grossly misleading for at least two reasons.
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