Overview

• The New York Times review of internal SpaceX documents indicates the company has likely paid little to no U.S. federal income tax since its 2002 founding.
• SpaceX had accumulated nearly $5.4 billion in net operating losses by late 2021 that can offset future taxable income.
• A 2017 Trump administration tax law removed the 20-year limit on loss carryforwards, enabling SpaceX to indefinitely apply about $3 billion of past losses.
• Federal contracts accounted for roughly 84 percent of SpaceX’s 2020 revenue and 76 percent in 2021, underscoring its reliance on public funding.
• Tax experts and oversight groups say the scale of foregone tax receipts warrants policy scrutiny over balancing strategic returns with direct fiscal accountability.