Block, Formerly Square, Drops San Francisco as Official Headquarters

Block Inc., the financial technology company previously known as Square, has removed San Francisco as its official headquarters, a step it describes as part of a shift to a "distributed work model." A company spokesperson confirmed that Block no longer has a designated headquarters location.

The change was laid out in a Feb. 24 regulatory filing. In it, Block said it had supported remote work for years, but that the pandemic sped up the transition. As a result, the company dropped its headquarters designation and gave most of its employees the option of working from home full time.

"Whether it be from home, in an office, or a combination of the two, we are focused on providing our employees with more flexibility," the company said in the filing. It added that the policy has opened up opportunities to hire and retain talent in more places, since many employees can stay on if they need or want to relocate.

Block retains a large physical footprint in the Bay Area. It holds 469,000 square feet of space in San Francisco, used for product development, sales, marketing and business operations, under a lease that expires next year. The company still lists its former headquarters at 1455 Market St., Suite 600, as the address for important notices and deliveries. It also leases 355,762 square feet in Oakland's Uptown Station development under a deal running through 2031. Block first planned to move into that space in 2020, but the pandemic led it to reconsider.

Twitter Inc., which was also founded by Jack Dorsey and has a remote work policy similar to Block's, continues to list its 1355 Market St. office as its official headquarters. Twitter reopened that office on March 15.

Block reported about 8,500 employees at the end of last year, roughly 7,200 of them in the United States. A spokesperson declined to say how many currently work from San Francisco. That figure matters for the company's local tax obligations, because the city's gross receipts tax is tied to the amount of business activity conducted there. A move away from the city could also affect Block's exposure to the administrative office tax, which applies to companies with more than 1,000 U.S. employees and over $1 billion in combined gross receipts, where more than half of the company's San Francisco payroll goes toward administrative or management services.

Block and the city have clashed over taxes before. In 2019 the company sued San Francisco for a refund of part of its tax bill, arguing it should be classified as an information services firm rather than a financial services company. In 2020 city officials agreed to a partial settlement and refunded about $7 million. A later lawsuit brought an additional $2.6 million refund.

The decision fits a pattern among financial technology firms. Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and credit card and financial services provider Brex have also dropped their official San Francisco headquarters in favor of remote-first approaches. Some traditional banks have also loosened office expectations: San Francisco-based Wells Fargo has adopted a hybrid schedule for corporate employees and is reportedly marketing its building at 550 California St. Bank of America, by contrast, is proceeding with a five-day return-to-office plan in the city.

Square said in May 2020 that employees able to do their jobs remotely could keep working from home permanently. In December, the company changed its corporate name to Block, while keeping the Square name for its merchant-focused business.