.tax

Overview

• .tax is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) applied for under ICANN's New gTLD Program.
• The string is intended for use by entities and individuals connected to taxes, tax preparation, tax policy commentary, and related industries.
• The applicant and registry operator is Donuts (Storm Orchard, LLC), which positions .tax as an open, consumer-oriented namespace.

History

• The .tax application was submitted as part of ICANN's New gTLD Program and was awarded to Donuts (Storm Orchard, LLC).
• The application received a GAC Early Warning from Australia (GAC Chair Heather Dryden) citing concerns that the string refers to a regulated market and that proposed consumer protections were insufficient.
• Donuts signed a Registry Agreement with ICANN on 20 March 2014.
• .tax was delegated to the DNS Root Zone on 23 April 2014, completing its delegation.

Usage and Audience

• Target users include:
  • Tax professionals and preparers
  • Tax software vendors and related service providers
  • Government or private entities that collect or provide information about taxes
  • Individuals and organizations commenting on tax policy or measuring fiscal burdens
• Donuts describes the TLD as attractive to a broad and diverse audience, including both commercial providers and public-policy commentators.

Registration Rules

• Donuts intends to encourage inclusiveness in registration policies: registrations are not limited by identity alone and no entity has exclusive rights to second-level names in .tax.
• The operator committed to an array of protections against abuse, including measures to address trademark concerns and reduce fraud and abuse relative to incumbent TLDs.
• Donuts stated it will avoid artificially denying access to legitimate registrants while implementing rights-protection mechanisms and consumer safeguards.

SEO and Brand Impact

• Donuts positions .tax as a competitive namespace that increases consumer choice and search-relevance for tax-related content.
• The operator claims to implement protection mechanisms that exceed many existing TLDs, aiming to reduce fraud and enhance trustworthiness for registrants and end users.
• The GAC Early Warning highlighted regulatory and consumer-protection perceptions tied to the string, an issue addressed during the application and contracting process.

% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object

domain:       TAX

organisation: Binky Moon, LLC
address:      c/o Identity Digital Limited
address:      10500 NE 8th Street, Suite 750
address:      Bellevue WA 98004
address:      United States of America (the)

contact:      administrative
name:         Vice President, Engineering
organisation: Identity Digital Limited
address:      10500 NE 8th Street, Suite 750
address:      Bellevue WA 98004
address:      United States of America (the)
phone:        +1.425.298.2200
fax-no:       +1.425.671.0020
e-mail:       tldadmin@identity.digital

contact:      technical
name:         Senior Director, DNS Infrastructure Group
organisation: Identity Digital Limited
address:      10500 NE 8th Street, Suite 750
address:      Bellevue WA 98004
address:      United States of America (the)
phone:        +1.425.298.2200
fax-no:       +1.425.671.0020
e-mail:       tldtech@identity.digital

nserver:      V0N0.NIC.TAX 2a01:8840:1a:0:0:0:0:16 65.22.24.16
nserver:      V0N1.NIC.TAX 2a01:8840:1b:0:0:0:0:16 65.22.25.16
nserver:      V0N2.NIC.TAX 2a01:8840:1c:0:0:0:0:16 65.22.26.16
nserver:      V0N3.NIC.TAX 161.232.12.16 2a01:8840:f6:0:0:0:0:16
nserver:      V2N0.NIC.TAX 2a01:8840:1d:0:0:0:0:16 65.22.27.16
nserver:      V2N1.NIC.TAX 161.232.13.16 2a01:8840:f7:0:0:0:0:16
ds-rdata:     3385 8 2 4d66cf4d6309a91268d634432d008877ab792d0632a1f8775b732a18c277786f

whois:        whois.nic.tax

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: https://www.identity.digital/

created:      2014-04-17
changed:      2023-09-13
source:       IANA