ICANN’s latest tax return reveals details about highly paid employees and contractors.
ICANN has released its 2025 tax return for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2025. The filed return provides an overview of the organization’s revenue, expenses, employee compensation, and payments to outside contractors and law firms for the year.
The filing shows total revenue declined by roughly $10 million compared with the previous fiscal year. About half of this decrease was driven by lower program service revenue, while the other half resulted from reduced investment income. On a tax-reporting basis, the organization recorded a net loss of approximately $12 million for the year.
Compensation figures included on the return identify senior leaders and other highly paid staff. The highest-reported compensation went to Sally Costerton, who served as interim president and CEO through the end of 2024; her reportable compensation was $921,000. General counsel John Jeffrey is listed next, with reportable compensation of $772,000 plus $83,000 in additional compensation. Overall, nine individuals had total compensation of $500,000 or more when other compensation was included.
The return also details payments to outside service providers. The law firm Jones Day received $3.9 million for legal services during the year. In addition to law firm fees, ICANN reported payments to a large number of independent contractors: 136 contractors received $100,000 or more in payments.
These disclosures reflect the level of spending on personnel and external services in the most recent fiscal year and provide a snapshot of where revenue declines and cost allocations occurred. The return offers transparency on senior executive pay and third-party vendor expenses that contribute to overall organizational costs.
ICANN’s filing is part of standard nonprofit tax reporting and allows the public, stakeholders, and policymakers to review financial priorities and resource allocation for the year. The numbers in the return can inform discussions about program funding, investment performance, and the use of external consultants and legal services moving forward.
For observers tracking ICANN’s finances, the decline in revenue and the reported loss will likely prompt questions about future budgeting, potential changes to programmatic spending, and the ongoing reliance on external contractors and law firms to deliver services.