Palantir’s UK tax contribution for 2024 was just £2 million, according to a report by the Centre for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research (Cictar) cited in The Guardian. The company declared profits of over £25 million in the United Kingdom that year, giving an effective tax rate of just over 8 % locally, while the statutory UK corporation tax rate was 25 % in 2024. Globally, Palantir’s effective tax rate was 1.4 %, the report said.
The firm’s UK revenues were substantial. Palantir reported £247 million of revenues sourced from the United Kingdom for 2024, the most recent year covered by the Cictar analysis. This made the UK its biggest market outside the United States, where roughly 750 of its non‑US employees are based. Despite the size of the UK market, the tax collected there was lower than that collected in South Korea, Japan, France or Germany, the researchers noted.
One factor highlighted by the report is Palantir’s use of transfer pricing. Researchers found that while 26 % of the company’s total revenue comes from customers outside the United States, only 4 % of that revenue is booked abroad. They said Palantir often records UK revenues in its US parent company, shifting profits to a jurisdiction with a lower tax burden. For example, Palantir’s UK subsidiary filed £159 million of revenues for 2024, whereas its stock‑market filings disclosed £247 million of UK‑sourced revenues.
The company also reduces its tax bill through share‑option awards to staff. By granting options rather than cash, Palantir can lower its corporation tax liability; employees then pay income tax on the vested shares, often at higher rates. A Palantir spokesperson said this practice is a standard tax measure introduced under the previous UK Labour government and results in more overall tax being paid because income tax rates exceed the 25 % corporation tax rate.
In the United States, Palantir paid no federal taxes last year and just over $2.5 million in state taxes, according to the Cictar report. The firm has accumulated billions of dollars in tax credits from share options and carried‑forward losses, meaning it may not owe US federal income tax for nearly a decade at current profit levels. Palantir also benefited from the corporate tax cut enacted under former President Donald Trump, which lowered the federal rate from 35 % to 21 %.
Palantir’s CEO Alex Karp forecast worldwide revenues would almost double to $8 billion in the near term, a projection that drove a 17 % jump in the company’s share price in early trading. A spokesperson for Palantir said the company complies with the tax regimes in the jurisdictions where it operates and criticised the transfer‑pricing analysis as “not credible”, describing profit allocation among group entities as a standard multinational practice.
The firm also disclosed that it paid $148 million in UK employment taxes last year, a figure that includes employer national‑insurance contributions and some income tax withheld on behalf of staff.
Key facts
- Palantir paid £2 million in UK corporation tax in 2024 despite declaring profits over £25 million.
- UK revenues were £247 million in 2024, making the UK its largest market outside the US.
- Global effective tax rate is 1.4 %; UK effective rate is just over 8 % against a statutory 25 % rate.
- Transfer pricing and share‑option schemes are cited as mechanisms reducing tax liabilities.
- Palantir paid $148 million in UK employment taxes last year.