Meta is fighting the IRS in U.S. Tax Court over roughly $355 million in federal research tax credits the company claimed by counting about $4.1 billion of Mark Zuckerberg's stock option payout as wages for research. Facebook claimed more than $618 million in research credits for 2012 and 2013, and the disputed $355 million stems from Zuckerberg's options, granted in November 2005 and stretched to 120 million shares by later stock splits. Meta argues the relevant year is 2005, when the options were granted and Zuckerberg personally wrote software code, while the IRS says only his work during the vesting period from Jan. 1, 2008, through Nov. 1, 2010, counts. Both sides asked the court to settle the timing question in May 2025, and it has yet to rule. The case drew renewed attention after a New York Times investigation published Sept. 30 reported that Meta now applies the same tax break to its AI data centers, which it classifies as experimental pilot models; Meta's securities filings show the research credit cut its taxes by $3.9 billion in 2025, up from $2 billion in 2024 and $700 million in 2023.
Meta Platforms Inc.IRS is challenging ~$355M in research tax credits Meta claimed tied to Zuckerberg's stock payout, a tax dispute that could cost the company.
