IRS Files $44B Worth of Tax Claims Against FTX Bankruptcy

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has filed claims worth around $44 billion against bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX and its affiliated entities, a tax bill that circulated on Twitter on 10 May shows.

According to bankruptcy filings on the website of Kroll’s Restructuring Administration — FTX’s claims agent — the IRS had filed 45 claims against FTX-affiliated companies — including West Realm Shires, Ledger Holdings, Alameda, Blockfolio, and more — on 27 and 28 April, which were worth nearly $44 billion.

The largest claims — including a $20.4 billion and a $7.9 billion claims — were against Alameda Research LLC for partnership and payroll taxes, while Alameda Research Holdings was hit with another two claims that are worth $9.5 billion combined.

The IRS, unsurprisingly, filed all these claims under the “Admin Priority” classification, which could allow the agency’s claims to supersede those of other creditors in the FTX bankruptcy case. Although Alameda was not headquartered in the U.S., the country uses a taxation-by-citizenship regime — meaning the IRS can gather taxes on the worldwide income of U.S. nationals — and its founders and key employees were U.S. nationals.

FTX and around 130 affiliated companies — including FTX.US and Alameda Research — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection back in November 2022, saying they had between $10 billion and $50 billion in both assets and liabilities. FTX’s debtors have since recovered some additional liquid assets, and there was even a proposal to revive the bankrupt exchange, but that was made prior to the IRS’ claims.