The New York Times reports Meta has used U.S. research tax-credit rules to seek
billions in tax relief for its AI data centers, describing data-center projects
worth billions as "experimental R&D" and treating AI compute chips purchased
from suppliers including NVIDIA as eligible R&D inputs. Documents show the
credit cut Meta’s tax bill by nearly $4bn last year, making it one of the
largest public-company beneficiaries. Internal accountants have warned of legal
risk and the IRS could challenge the claims. Tax adviser Andre Shevchuck of BPM
said classifying AI data centers as "experimental R&D" is "beyond routine." The
IRS has previously reviewed firms that treated ordinary commercial spending as
R&D for credit purposes.