BROOMFIELD, Colo. — Crocs Inc. used a Malta-based corporate structure to reduce its tax bill by about $47 million in 2025, according to the footwear maker’s latest regulatory filing and an analysis of corporate disclosures, highlighting the role of the Mediterranean country in multinational tax planning.
Crocs’ annual report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission shows a $47.4 million reduction in its effective tax rate attributable to Malta for 2025. The filing also says Crocs’ effective tax rate has varied significantly because of intra-entity intellectual property transactions, differences in profitability across jurisdictions and changes in valuation allowances.
The disclosure does not establish that Crocs violated tax laws. Nor does it say that the company operated a conventional office in Malta. Instead, Crocs has maintained Malta-based legal entities as part of its international corporate structure.
SEC documents show that Crocs established Crocs New Malta and converted a Bermuda entity into Crocs Malta Holdings as part of a 2020 restructuring. The restructuring included transferring intellectual property registered outside the United States and other assets to the Malta entity before certain intellectual property was transferred to Crocs Europe.
A New York Times review of corporate filings published in 2026 reported that Crocs had no offices in Malta but nevertheless used Maltese entities in a structure that produced about $47 million in tax savings in 2025. The review examined disclosures that companies are now required to provide concerning income taxes paid or avoided across foreign jurisdictions.
Malta has a statutory corporate income tax rate of 35%, but its tax system allows shareholders of qualifying foreign-owned companies to claim refunds on certain tax paid, potentially reducing the effective rate on trading profits to about 5%. Malta also has rules allowing qualifying corporate groups to consolidate for income-tax purposes.
Crocs’ 2025 filing separately disclosed that the company settled part of its uncertain tax positions associated with 2023 intellectual-property transactions, releasing $34.1 million of previously recorded uncertain tax positions. Other positions connected with those transactions remained outstanding at year-end.
The company reported $4.04 billion in revenue for 2025 and $154.2 million in income-tax expense, while its overall effective tax rate was affected by significant impairments and other tax adjustments.
Crocs’ latest filings do not indicate that the company has abandoned its Malta-related structure.
