DUBLIN, Ireland: Apple's Irish headquarters shouldered a massive 23.2 billion euro corporation tax charge last year, largely due to a European court ruling, newly filed accounts show—despite the tech giant posting higher profits.

Apple Operations International Ltd (AOIL), the Cork-based holding company for Apple's non-U.S. operations, revealed in its latest financials that US$15.84 billion of the total tax bill stemmed from a European Court of Justice ruling. The court found Ireland had granted Apple undue tax advantages, in breach of EU state aid rules.

"As a result, AOIL recorded a one-time income tax charge of $14.8 billion," a note in the accounts stated, "which represents $15.8 billion payable to Ireland via release of the escrow and a decrease in uncertain tax position of $1 billion."

Overall, AOIL's corporation tax bill for the 12 months ending September 2023 stood at $25.2 billion (23.2 billion euros). Of that, $8.84 billion was paid in cash during the year.

Despite the hefty tax charge, pre-tax profits rose by 7% to $76.36 billion, up from $71.07 billion the previous year. Revenue inched up 1.5% to $222.3 billion. However, post-tax profits dropped 18%, from $62.28 billion to $51.15 billion.

While the accounts don't break down the exact portion of tax paid in Ireland, they state that applying the 12.5% Irish corporate tax rate would yield a tax charge of $9.5 billion. Given AOIL's registration at Apple's Holyhill campus in Cork, a significant portion of the bill likely went to Irish authorities.

AOIL paid out $67.62 billion in dividends to parent company Apple Inc., down from $92.2 billion the previous year.

The group's cost of sales hit $120.2 billion, yielding a gross profit of $102 billion. Research and development spending totaled $16.92 billion.

AOIL and its subsidiaries employed 55,827 people globally in 2024, including around 6,000 in Ireland. Staff costs totaled $7 billion, with $1.73 billion in share-based compensation.

Apple's cash holdings at the group level dipped slightly to $17.85 billion, while shareholder funds stood at $47.96 billion at the close of the financial year.