Mark Zuckerberg · California · Meta · U.S. Treasury · US Congress · Fortune Technology
Meta is now facing an entirely different question about a different tax break from certain members of Congress
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Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.the reporter.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) wrote to Zuckerberg on Oct. 13 requesting an answer by Halloween about Meta’s federal tax filings.
Key facts
- Meta recognized an $8.03 billion tax benefit in the first quarter as a result, partially offsetting a $15.93 billion charge it recognized in the third quarter of 2025, once the One Big Beautiful Bill
- Its gross unrecognized tax benefits, savings it has claimed but not yet counted as final, were $20.82 billion as of Sept. 30, up from $16.45 billion at the end of 2025
- By comparison, absent changes to its tax landscape, Meta says, “The team expect their fourth-quarter 2026 tax rate to be between 15%–17%
- Meta reported a first-quarter rate of negative 23%; without the Treasury benefit, it would have been 37 percentage points higher, or about 14%
Summary
Meta’s filings this week were dominated by its new class of nonvoting stock, which would let Mark Zuckerberg raise cash, including enough to pay for a potential California wealth tax, without giving up control of the company. While that news pertains to an individual’s potential tax bill, Meta’s quarterly report shows how low the company’s tax bill might be. “Our effective tax rate for the nine months ended September 30, 2026 was 2%,” Meta said in the report, as compared with 21%, the statutory rate set into federal law. Most of that comes from a single item: On Feb. 18, Treasury issued Notice 2026-7, providing relief from the corporate alternative minimum tax related to previously capitalized U.S. research and development costs. The benefit has a large effect on this year’s rate.