14. Income Taxes	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2018
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Income Taxes	14. Income Taxes The Tax Act, enacted in December 2017, significantly revised U.S. tax law by, among other things, lowering the statutory federal corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21% for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, eliminating certain deductions, imposing a one-time transition tax on certain accumulated earnings and profits of foreign corporate subsidiaries (the “transition tax”) that may electively be paid over eight years, introducing new tax regimes, and changing how foreign earnings are subject to U.S. tax. The Tax Act also includes many new provisions, such as changes to bonus depreciation, changes to deductions for executive compensation, net operating loss deduction limitations, a tax on global intangible low-taxed income (“GILTI”) earned by foreign corporate subsidiaries, a base erosion anti-abuse tax (“BEAT”), and a deduction for foreign-derived intangible income (“FDII”). We continue to evaluate the impact of the Tax Act on us. In December 2017, the SEC issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 to (i) clarify certain aspects of accounting for income taxes under ASC 740 in the reporting period the Tax Act was signed into law when information is not yet available or complete and (ii) provide a measurement period up to one year to complete the accounting for the Tax Act. We have not completed our accounting for the Tax Act but have, in certain cases, made reasonable estimates of the effects of the Tax Act. In other cases, we have not been able to make a reasonable estimate of such tax effects and have continued to account for the affected items, including state income taxes to the extent there is uncertainty regarding conformity to the federal tax system, based on previous tax laws. In all cases, we will continue to make and refine our estimates as additional analysis is completed. Our estimates may also be refined as we gain a more thorough understanding of the tax law. Any changes to our provisional estimates could be material to income tax expense. As a result of the Tax Act, we remeasured certain deferred tax assets and liabilities based on the tax rate applicable to when the temporary differences are expected to reverse in the future, which is generally 21%, and recorded a provisional tax expense of $6.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. No adjustments to this provisional amount were made during the three and six months ended June 30, 2018. We continue to evaluate certain aspects of the Tax Act, which could potentially affect the remeasurement of these deferred tax balances and result in additional tax expense. The transition tax was based on our total post-1986 foreign earnings and profits, which we had deferred from U.S. income taxes under previous tax law. We estimated and recorded a provisional transition tax expense of $401.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. No adjustments to this provisional amount were made during the three and six months ended June 30, 2018. As we continue gathering additional information to finalize our calculations of post-1986 foreign earnings and profits previously deferred from U.S. income taxes, the provisional amount may change. We have not completed our accounting for the transition tax, and as we finalize and complete our plans for the reinvestment or repatriation of unremitted foreign earnings and are able to calculate the resulting tax effects, we expect to record such tax effects, if any, and disclose such plans within the measurement period. The Tax Act subjects a U.S. shareholder to tax on GILTI earned by foreign corporate subsidiaries. Because of the complexity of the new GILTI, BEAT, and FDII provisions of the Tax Act and different aspects of our estimated future results of global operations, we continue to evaluate the effects of the GILTI provisions and have not yet determined our accounting policy election to (i) record taxes due on future U.S. inclusions in taxable income related to GILTI as a current-period expense when incurred (the “period cost method”) or (ii) factor such amounts into our measurement of deferred income taxes (the “deferred method”). Based on our evaluation, we included an estimate of the tax on GILTI in our effective tax rate for the six months ended June 30, 2018 but did not recognize additional GILTI on deferred items. We expect to complete our accounting for the GILTI provisions of the Tax Act and make a corresponding accounting policy election within the prescribed measurement period. The BEAT provisions of the Tax Act impose a minimum tax related to certain deductible payments made to related foreign persons. In addition, the Tax Act disallows certain interest and royalty deductions for payments made to related parties depending on their countries’ tax treatment of the payments. The new FDII provision allows a U.S. corporation to deduct 37.5% of its foreign-derived intangible income. We evaluated the impact of the BEAT and FDII provisions of the Tax Act on our expected 2018 operating results and expect such impact to be immaterial. Our effective tax rate was 345.0% and (135.6)% for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively. The increase in our effective tax rate was primarily driven by losses in certain jurisdictions for which no tax benefit could be recorded and the relative size of our pretax income in the current period, a discrete tax benefit in 2017 associated with the acceptance of our election to classify certain of our German subsidiaries as disregarded entities of First Solar, Inc., and changes in certain of our uncertain tax positions, including interest and penalties, partially offset by excess tax benefits associated with share-based compensation. Our provision for income taxes differed from the amount computed by applying the U.S. statutory federal income tax rate of 21% primarily due to losses in certain jurisdictions for which no tax benefit could be recorded and changes in certain of our uncertain tax positions, including interest and penalties, partially offset by the beneficial impact of our Malaysian tax holiday and excess tax benefits associated with share-based compensation. Our Malaysian subsidiary has been granted a long-term tax holiday that expires in 2027. The tax holiday, which generally provides for a full exemption from Malaysian income tax, is conditional upon our continued compliance with certain employment and investment thresholds, which we are currently in compliance with and expect to continue to comply with through the expiration of the tax holiday in 2027. We account for uncertain tax positions pursuant to the recognition and measurement criteria under ASC 740. It is reasonably possible that $9.4 million of uncertain tax positions will be recognized within the next 12 months due to the expiration of the statute of limitations associated with such positions. We are subject to audit by U.S. federal, state, local, and foreign tax authorities. We are currently under examination in India, Chile, and the state of California. We believe that adequate provisions have been made for any adjustments that may result from tax examinations. However, the outcome of tax audits cannot be predicted with certainty. If any issues addressed by our tax audits are not resolved in a manner consistent with our expectations, we could be required to adjust our provision for income taxes in the period such resolution occurs.

14. Income Taxes

The Tax Act, enacted in December 2017, significantly revised U.S. tax law by, among other things, lowering the statutory federal corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21% for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, eliminating certain deductions, imposing a one-time transition tax on certain accumulated earnings and profits of foreign corporate subsidiaries (the “transition tax”) that may electively be paid over eight years, introducing new tax regimes, and changing how foreign earnings are subject to U.S. tax. The Tax Act also includes many new provisions, such as changes to bonus depreciation, changes to deductions for executive compensation, net operating loss deduction limitations, a tax on global intangible low-taxed income (“GILTI”) earned by foreign corporate subsidiaries, a base erosion anti-abuse tax (“BEAT”), and a deduction for foreign-derived intangible income (“FDII”). We continue to evaluate the impact of the Tax Act on us.

In December 2017, the SEC issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 to (i) clarify certain aspects of accounting for income taxes under ASC 740 in the reporting period the Tax Act was signed into law when information is not yet available or complete and (ii) provide a measurement period up to one year to complete the accounting for the Tax Act. We have not completed our accounting for the Tax Act but have, in certain cases, made reasonable estimates of the effects of the Tax Act. In other cases, we have not been able to make a reasonable estimate of such tax effects and have continued to account for the affected items, including state income taxes to the extent there is uncertainty regarding conformity to the federal tax system, based on previous tax laws. In all cases, we will continue to make and refine our estimates as additional analysis is completed. Our estimates may also be refined as we gain a more thorough understanding of the tax law. Any changes to our provisional estimates could be material to income tax expense.

As a result of the Tax Act, we remeasured certain deferred tax assets and liabilities based on the tax rate applicable to when the temporary differences are expected to reverse in the future, which is generally 21%, and recorded a provisional tax expense of $6.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. No adjustments to this provisional amount were made during the three and six months ended June 30, 2018. We continue to evaluate certain aspects of the Tax Act, which could potentially affect the remeasurement of these deferred tax balances and result in additional tax expense.

The transition tax was based on our total post-1986 foreign earnings and profits, which we had deferred from U.S. income taxes under previous tax law. We estimated and recorded a provisional transition tax expense of $401.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. No adjustments to this provisional amount were made during the three and six months ended June 30, 2018. As we continue gathering additional information to finalize our calculations of post-1986 foreign earnings and profits previously deferred from U.S. income taxes, the provisional amount may change. We have not completed our accounting for the transition tax, and as we finalize and complete our plans for the reinvestment or repatriation of unremitted foreign earnings and are able to calculate the resulting tax effects, we expect to record such tax effects, if any, and disclose such plans within the measurement period.

The Tax Act subjects a U.S. shareholder to tax on GILTI earned by foreign corporate subsidiaries. Because of the complexity of the new GILTI, BEAT, and FDII provisions of the Tax Act and different aspects of our estimated future results of global operations, we continue to evaluate the effects of the GILTI provisions and have not yet determined our accounting policy election to (i) record taxes due on future U.S. inclusions in taxable income related to GILTI as a current-period expense when incurred (the “period cost method”) or (ii) factor such amounts into our measurement of deferred income taxes (the “deferred method”). Based on our evaluation, we included an estimate of the tax on GILTI in our effective tax rate for the six months ended June 30, 2018 but did not recognize additional GILTI on deferred items. We expect to complete our accounting for the GILTI provisions of the Tax Act and make a corresponding accounting policy election within the prescribed measurement period.

The BEAT provisions of the Tax Act impose a minimum tax related to certain deductible payments made to related foreign persons. In addition, the Tax Act disallows certain interest and royalty deductions for payments made to related parties depending on their countries’ tax treatment of the payments. The new FDII provision allows a U.S. corporation to deduct 37.5% of its foreign-derived intangible income. We evaluated the impact of the BEAT and FDII provisions of the Tax Act on our expected 2018 operating results and expect such impact to be immaterial.

Our effective tax rate was 345.0% and (135.6)% for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively. The increase in our effective tax rate was primarily driven by losses in certain jurisdictions for which no tax benefit could be recorded and the relative size of our pretax income in the current period, a discrete tax benefit in 2017 associated with the acceptance of our election to classify certain of our German subsidiaries as disregarded entities of First Solar, Inc., and changes in certain of our uncertain tax positions, including interest and penalties, partially offset by excess tax benefits associated with share-based compensation. Our provision for income taxes differed from the amount computed by applying the U.S. statutory federal income tax rate of 21% primarily due to losses in certain jurisdictions for which no tax benefit could be recorded and changes in certain of our uncertain tax positions, including interest and penalties, partially offset by the beneficial impact of our Malaysian tax holiday and excess tax benefits associated with share-based compensation.

Our Malaysian subsidiary has been granted a long-term tax holiday that expires in 2027. The tax holiday, which generally provides for a full exemption from Malaysian income tax, is conditional upon our continued compliance with certain employment and investment thresholds, which we are currently in compliance with and expect to continue to comply with through the expiration of the tax holiday in 2027.

We account for uncertain tax positions pursuant to the recognition and measurement criteria under ASC 740. It is reasonably possible that $9.4 million of uncertain tax positions will be recognized within the next 12 months due to the expiration of the statute of limitations associated with such positions.

We are subject to audit by U.S. federal, state, local, and foreign tax authorities. We are currently under examination in India, Chile, and the state of California. We believe that adequate provisions have been made for any adjustments that may result from tax examinations. However, the outcome of tax audits cannot be predicted with certainty. If any issues addressed by our tax audits are not resolved in a manner consistent with our expectations, we could be required to adjust our provision for income taxes in the period such resolution occurs.