Note 16 - Provision for Income Taxes (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	May 31, 2016	May 31, 2015	May 31, 2016		May 31, 2015
U.S. operations	$ 68,550	$ 72,816	$ 205,824		$ 203,655
Non-U.S. operations	20,307	13,022	55,353		44,055
Income before income taxes	88,857	85,838	261,177		247,710
U.S. operations	18,131	22,842	55,907		63,659
Non-U.S. operations	3,945	1,587	10,762		5,184
Total provision for income taxes	$ 22,076	$ 24,429	$ 66,669		$ 68,843
Effective tax rate	24.80%	28.50%	25.50%	[1]	27.80%	[2]

[1] In December 2015, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (the "2016 ACT") was signed into law. The ACT reinstated and made permanent the U.S. Federal R&D tax credit (the "R&D tax credit"), which had previously expired on December 31, 2014. The reenactment of the R&D tax credit was retroactive to January 1, 2015 and by providing for a permanent R&D tax credit, the 2016 ACT eliminates the yearly uncertainty surrounding the extension of the credit. Prior to the reenactment of the R&D tax credit, FactSet had not been permitted to factor it into its effective tax rate as it was not currently enacted tax law. The reenactment resulted in a discrete income tax benefit of $7.3 million during the second quarter of fiscal 2016.

[2] In December 2014, the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 (the "2014 ACT") was signed into law. The 2014 ACT reinstated the U.S. Federal R&D tax credit, which had previously expired on December 31, 2013. The reenactment of the credit was retroactive to January 1, 2014 and extended through the end of the 2014 calendar year. Prior to the reenactment of the tax credit, FactSet had not been permitted to factor it into its effective tax rate because it was not currently enacted tax law. The reenactment resulted in a discrete income tax benefit of $5.1 million during the second quarter of fiscal 2015.