SpaceX has paid very little to no federal income tax, leveraging significant past losses (over $5 billion by 2021) through a legal tax strategy called net operating loss carryforward, allowing it to offset billions in future profits, with reports indicating potential for never paying federal tax despite billions in government contracts. While it paid minor state ($78k) and foreign ($483k) taxes in 2021, its federal liability has been minimal, using tax code provisions from 2017 to indefinitely apply losses against future earnings, according to The New York Times.
SpaceX Gets Billions From the Government. It Gives Little to Nothing Back in Taxes. Elon Musk's rocket company relies on federal contracts, but years of losses have most likely let it avoid paying federal income taxes, according to internal company documents.
SpaceX's Revenue Soars, Taxes Stay Low
Documents reviewed by the publication show that more than 75% of SpaceX's revenue in 2020 and 2021 came from federal contracts. Despite that reliance on taxpayers, SpaceX paid only minimal taxes — including $483,000 to foreign governments and $78,000 in state taxes in 2021.
In some years, billionaires such as Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and George Soros paid no federal income taxes at all. Billionaires avoid these taxes by taking out special ultra-low-interest loans available only to them and using their assets as collateral. Tesla paid $0 in federal income tax last year.
SpaceX, Elon Musk's rocket company, has most likely paid little to no federal income taxes since its founding in 2002, even as it's received billions of dollars in federal contracts, according to internal company documents reviewed by The New York Times.
One of the biggest reasons Bezos pays little in personal income tax is that he doesn't rely on a traditional salary. Instead, he holds most of his wealth in Amazon stock. Here's why this matters: Capital gains taxes are much lower than income taxes in most cases.
Tesla paid $0 in federal income tax last year. 2022: $0 2021: $0 2020: $0 2019: $0 2018: $0 Tesla reported $6.7 billion in profit in those years.
In fact, the list of billionaires paying $0 in income tax reads like a who's-who of the world's most famous executives. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, for example, are the two wealthiest people in the world, according to the Forbes Billionaires' List.
New York tax expert Robert Willens tells Barron's that Zuckerberg faces a 23.8% federal tax bite—20% federal tax on dividend income and a 3.8% Medicare surcharge—plus the top 13.3% state income-tax rate in California.
“I'm the largest individual tax payer in history. I pay over $10 billion in tax." — Elon Musk says.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk had a pay package worth $139 billion restored by the Delaware Supreme Court late Friday. The Delaware Supreme Court has restored a massive pay package awarded to Tesla CEO Elon Musk in 2018 that had twice been voided by a lower court judge.
Elon Musk donated over $288 million to support Donald Trump and other Republicans in the 2024 election cycle, primarily through his own super PAC, America PAC, making him a major political financier. While he gave millions directly to Trump-aligned super PACs like MAGA Inc. and party committees, most funds went to America PAC for get-out-the-vote efforts in swing states, with significant contributions coming in late 2024.
SpaceX has several different revenue streams, including satellite launch contracts and other payload contracts with NASA, Starlink subscriptions, and space tourism. Launches provide long-term contracts from organizations such as NASA.
Elon Musk's SpaceX Paid Almost No Federal Income Tax Since 2002 Despite Billions In Government Contracts: Report. SpaceX, the space exploration company founded by Elon Musk, has reportedly paid minimal to no federal income taxes since its establishment in 2002, despite receiving billions in federal contracts.
Three wealthy entrepreneurs—Larry Connor, Mark Pathy, and Eytan Stibbe—paid approximately $55 million each for a trip to the International Space Station (ISS) on SpaceX's Axiom-1 mission in April 2022, making them the first all-private crew to visit the ISS. They flew with retired NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría for about 10 days, conducting experiments and commercial activities.
Pop superstar Beyoncé and the IRS agree that she owes $709.20 in tax and penalties instead of the nearly $2.7 million that the agency had asserted in a deficiency notice, according to a stipulated decision approved by the Tax Court . The decision document in Knowles-Carter v.
“Tesla: The company has used mechanisms like deferred tax assets, research and development credits, and massive deductions from Elon Musk's stock-based compensation to reduce its U.S. federal income tax to near zero in profitable years.”
There are several ways to reduce tax bills and pay no taxes legally, and one of the easiest ways is to take full advantage of a self-employment tax deduction scheme. In the US, this deduction allows you to deduct a portion of your self-employed income from your taxable profit, provided there are allowable expenses.