Income Taxes	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2018
Income Taxes.
Income Taxes	NOTE 8. Income Taxes The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction as well as various state, local, and foreign jurisdictions. With few exceptions, the Company is no longer subject to income tax examinations by tax authorities for years before 2005. The IRS has completed its field examination of the Company’s U.S. federal income tax returns for the years 2005 through 2014, and 2016. The Company protested certain IRS positions within these tax years and entered into the administrative appeals process with the IRS. Currently, the Company is under examination by the IRS for its U.S. federal income tax returns for the years 2015 and 2017. As of September 30, 2018, the IRS has not proposed any significant adjustments to the Company’s tax positions for which the Company is not adequately reserved. Payments relating to other proposed assessments arising from the 2005 through 2017 examinations may not be made until a final agreement is reached between the Company and the IRS on such assessments or upon a final resolution resulting from the administrative appeals process or judicial action. In addition to the U.S. federal examination, there is also audit activity in several U.S. state and foreign jurisdictions. The Company applies a more-likely-than-not threshold to the recognition and derecognition of uncertain tax positions. Accordingly, the Company recognizes the amount of tax benefit that has a greater than 50 percent likelihood of being ultimately realized upon settlement. The total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits that, if recognized, would affect the effective tax rate as of September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 are $584 million and $526 million, respectively. The Company recognizes interest and penalties accrued related to unrecognized tax benefits in tax expense. The Company recognized in the consolidated statement of income on a gross basis approximately $5 million and $8 million of expense for the three months ended September 30, 2018 and September 30, 2017, respectively, and approximately $8 million and $16 million of expense for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and September 30, 2017, respectively. At September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, accrued interest and penalties in the consolidated balance sheet on a gross basis were $65 million and $68 million, respectively. Included in these interest and penalty amounts are interest and penalties related to tax positions for which the ultimate deductibility is highly certain but for which there is uncertainty about the timing of such deductibility. The provision for income taxes is determined using the asset and liability approach. Under this approach, a valuation allowance is recorded to reduce its deferred tax assets when uncertainty regarding their realizability exists. As of September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the Company had valuation allowances of $73 million and $81 million on its deferred tax assets, respectively. The effective tax rate for the third quarter of 2018 was 21.3 percent, compared to 28.3 percent in the third quarter of 2017, a decrease of 7.0 percentage points. Primary factors that decreased the Company’s effective tax rate included favorable aspects of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) such as the decrease in the U.S. income tax rate and provisions incentivizing foreign-derived intangible income (FDII), in addition to impacts associated with composition of geographic mix of income before taxes. These decreases were partially offset by multiple factors that increased the Company’s effective tax rate. These increases were primarily driven by impacts of the TCJA such as the elimination of the domestic manufacturing deduction and the global intangible low-taxed income (GILTI) provision; and lower excess tax benefits related to employee share-based payments. The effective tax rate for the first nine months of 2018 was 24.0 percent, compared to 26.1 percent in the first nine months of 2017, a decrease of 2.1 percentage points. Primary factors that decreased the Company’s effective tax rate included favorable aspects of the TCJA such as the decrease in the U.S. income tax rate and FDII, in addition to impacts associated with composition of geographic mix of income before taxes. These decreases were partially offset by impacts related to the TCJA such as the first quarter 2018 measurement period adjustment to the provisional accounting of the TCJA’s enactment (discussed further below), the elimination of the domestic manufacturing deduction and the GILTI provision; and lower excess tax benefits related to employee share-based payments. The TCJA was enacted in December 2017. Among other things, the TCJA reduces the U.S. federal corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent beginning in 2018, requires companies to pay a one-time transition tax on previously unremitted earnings of non-U.S. subsidiaries that were previously tax deferred and creates new taxes on certain foreign sourced earnings. The SEC staff issued Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 118, which provides guidance on accounting for enactment effects of the TCJA. SAB 118 provides a measurement period of up to one year from the TCJA’s enactment date for companies to complete their accounting under ASC 740. In accordance with SAB 118, to the extent that a company’s accounting for certain income tax effects of the TCJA is incomplete but it is able to determine a reasonable estimate, it must record a provisional estimate in its financial statements. If a company cannot determine a provisional estimate to be included in its financial statements, it should continue to apply ASC 740 on the basis of the provisions of the tax laws that were in effect immediately before the enactment of the TCJA. In connection with 3M’s initial analysis of the impact of the enactment of the TCJA, the Company recorded a net tax expense of $762 million in the fourth quarter of 2017. As further discussed below, during the first quarter of 2018, 3M recognized a measurement period adjustment resulting in an additional tax expense of $217 million to this provisional accounting. The Company made no additional adjustments in the second and third quarters of 2018. Transition tax: 3M was able to make a reasonable estimate of the transition tax and recorded a provisional obligation and related income tax expense of $745 million in the fourth quarter of 2017, with an additional $132 million in the first quarter of 2018 as a result of subsequent U.S. Internal Revenue Service guidance. The Company made no additional adjustments in the second and third quarters of 2018. The Company continues to gather additional information and will consider further guidance to more precisely compute the transition tax. The provisional amount may change when 3M finalizes the calculation of post-1986 foreign earnings and profit previously deferred from U.S. federal taxation and finalizes the amounts held in cash or other specified assets. The TCJA’s transition tax is payable over eight years beginning in 2018. As of September 30, 2018, 3M reflected $74 million and $733 million in current accrued income taxes and long-term income taxes payable, respectively, associated with the transition tax. Remeasurement of deferred tax assets/liabilities and other impacts: 3M remeasured certain deferred tax assets and liabilities based on the rates at which they are expected to reverse in the future, which is generally 21 percent under the TCJA. In the fourth quarter of 2017, 3M recorded a net additional income tax expense of $17 million related to remeasurement of deferred tax assets/liabilities and other impacts. In the first quarter of 2018, 3M recorded an additional tax expense of $85 million as a measurement period adjustment as a result of subsequent U.S. Internal Revenue Service guidance and other impacts related to TCJA. The Company made no additional adjustments in the second and third quarters of 2018. 3M is still analyzing certain aspects of the TCJA, considering additional technical guidance, and refining its calculations, which could potentially affect the measurement of these balances or potentially give rise to new deferred tax amounts. This includes the potential impacts of the GILTI provision within the TCJA on deferred tax assets/liabilities. 3M also is considering other impacts of the 2017 enactment of the TCJA including, but not limited to, effects on the Company’s indefinite reinvestment assertion. 3M previously has not provided deferred taxes on unremitted earnings attributable to international companies that have been considered to be reinvested indefinitely. The full effects of underlying tax rates of the TCJA causes some reassessment of previous indefinite reinvestment assertions with respect to certain jurisdictions. While 3M was able to make a reasonable estimate of these impacts, it may be affected by other analyses related to the TCJA, including, but not limited to, the calculation of the transition tax on deferred foreign income. While 3M has recorded current tax on GILTI relative to 2018 operations, the Company has not yet elected a policy as to whether it will recognize deferred taxes for basis differences expected to reverse as GILTI or whether 3M will account for GILTI as period costs if and when incurred.

NOTE 8. Income Taxes

The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction as well as various state, local, and foreign jurisdictions. With few exceptions, the Company is no longer subject to income tax examinations by tax authorities for years before 2005.

The IRS has completed its field examination of the Company’s U.S. federal income tax returns for the years 2005 through 2014, and 2016. The Company protested certain IRS positions within these tax years and entered into the administrative appeals process with the IRS. Currently, the Company is under examination by the IRS for its U.S. federal income tax returns for the years 2015 and 2017. As of September 30, 2018, the IRS has not proposed any significant adjustments to the Company’s tax positions for which the Company is not adequately reserved.

Payments relating to other proposed assessments arising from the 2005 through 2017 examinations may not be made until a final agreement is reached between the Company and the IRS on such assessments or upon a final resolution resulting from the administrative appeals process or judicial action. In addition to the U.S. federal examination, there is also audit activity in several U.S. state and foreign jurisdictions.

The Company applies a more-likely-than-not threshold to the recognition and derecognition of uncertain tax positions. Accordingly, the Company recognizes the amount of tax benefit that has a greater than 50 percent likelihood of being ultimately realized upon settlement. The total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits that, if recognized, would affect the effective tax rate as of September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 are $584 million and $526 million, respectively.

The Company recognizes interest and penalties accrued related to unrecognized tax benefits in tax expense. The Company recognized in the consolidated statement of income on a gross basis approximately $5 million and $8 million of expense for the three months ended September 30, 2018 and September 30, 2017, respectively, and approximately $8 million and $16 million of expense for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and September 30, 2017, respectively. At September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, accrued interest and penalties in the consolidated balance sheet on a gross basis were $65 million and $68 million, respectively. Included in these interest and penalty amounts are interest and penalties related to tax positions for which the ultimate deductibility is highly certain but for which there is uncertainty about the timing of such deductibility.

The provision for income taxes is determined using the asset and liability approach. Under this approach, a valuation allowance is recorded to reduce its deferred tax assets when uncertainty regarding their realizability exists. As of September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the Company had valuation allowances of $73 million and $81 million on its deferred tax assets, respectively.

The effective tax rate for the third quarter of 2018 was 21.3 percent, compared to 28.3 percent in the third quarter of 2017, a decrease of 7.0 percentage points. Primary factors that decreased the Company’s effective tax rate included favorable aspects of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) such as the decrease in the U.S. income tax rate and provisions incentivizing foreign-derived intangible income (FDII), in addition to impacts associated with composition of geographic mix of income before taxes. These decreases were partially offset by multiple factors that increased the Company’s effective tax rate. These increases were primarily driven by impacts of the TCJA such as the elimination of the domestic manufacturing deduction and the global intangible low-taxed income (GILTI) provision; and lower excess tax benefits related to employee share-based payments.

The effective tax rate for the first nine months of 2018 was 24.0 percent, compared to 26.1 percent in the first nine months of 2017, a decrease of 2.1 percentage points. Primary factors that decreased the Company’s effective tax rate included favorable aspects of the TCJA such as the decrease in the U.S. income tax rate and FDII, in addition to impacts associated with composition of geographic mix of income before taxes. These decreases were partially offset by impacts related to the TCJA such as the first quarter 2018 measurement period adjustment to the provisional accounting of the TCJA’s enactment (discussed further below), the elimination of the domestic manufacturing deduction and the GILTI provision; and lower excess tax benefits related to employee share-based payments.

The TCJA was enacted in December 2017. Among other things, the TCJA reduces the U.S. federal corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent beginning in 2018, requires companies to pay a one-time transition tax on previously unremitted earnings of non-U.S. subsidiaries that were previously tax deferred and creates new taxes on certain foreign sourced earnings. The SEC staff issued Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 118, which provides guidance on accounting for enactment effects of the TCJA. SAB 118 provides a measurement period of up to one year from the TCJA’s enactment date for companies to complete their accounting under ASC 740. In accordance with SAB 118, to the extent that a company’s accounting for certain income tax effects of the TCJA is incomplete but it is able to determine a reasonable estimate, it must record a provisional estimate in its financial statements. If a company cannot determine a provisional estimate to be included in its financial statements, it should continue to apply ASC 740 on the basis of the provisions of the tax laws that were in effect immediately before the enactment of the TCJA. In connection with 3M’s initial analysis of the impact of the enactment of the TCJA, the Company recorded a net tax expense of $762 million in the fourth quarter of 2017. As further discussed below, during the first quarter of 2018, 3M recognized a measurement period adjustment resulting in an additional tax expense of $217 million to this provisional accounting. The Company made no additional adjustments in the second and third quarters of 2018.

Transition tax: 3M was able to make a reasonable estimate of the transition tax and recorded a provisional obligation and related income tax expense of $745 million in the fourth quarter of 2017, with an additional $132 million in the first quarter of 2018 as a result of subsequent U.S. Internal Revenue Service guidance. The Company made no additional adjustments in the second and third quarters of 2018. The Company continues to gather additional information and will consider further guidance to more precisely compute the transition tax. The provisional amount may change when 3M finalizes the calculation of post-1986 foreign earnings and profit previously deferred from U.S. federal taxation and finalizes the amounts held in cash or other specified assets. The TCJA’s transition tax is payable over eight years beginning in 2018. As of September 30, 2018, 3M reflected $74 million and $733 million in current accrued income taxes and long-term income taxes payable, respectively, associated with the transition tax.

Remeasurement of deferred tax assets/liabilities and other impacts: 3M remeasured certain deferred tax assets and liabilities based on the rates at which they are expected to reverse in the future, which is generally 21 percent under the TCJA. In the fourth quarter of 2017, 3M recorded a net additional income tax expense of $17 million related to remeasurement of deferred tax assets/liabilities and other impacts. In the first quarter of 2018, 3M recorded an additional tax expense of $85 million as a measurement period adjustment as a result of subsequent U.S. Internal Revenue Service guidance and other impacts related to TCJA. The Company made no additional adjustments in the second and third quarters of 2018. 3M is still analyzing certain aspects of the TCJA, considering additional technical guidance, and refining its calculations, which could potentially affect the measurement of these balances or potentially give rise to new deferred tax amounts. This includes the potential impacts of the GILTI provision within the TCJA on deferred tax assets/liabilities. 3M also is considering other impacts of the 2017 enactment of the TCJA including, but not limited to, effects on the Company’s indefinite reinvestment assertion. 3M previously has not provided deferred taxes on unremitted earnings attributable to international companies that have been considered to be reinvested indefinitely. The full effects of underlying tax rates of the TCJA causes some reassessment of previous indefinite reinvestment assertions with respect to certain jurisdictions. While 3M was able to make a reasonable estimate of these impacts, it may be affected by other analyses related to the TCJA, including, but not limited to, the calculation of the transition tax on deferred foreign income.

While 3M has recorded current tax on GILTI relative to 2018 operations, the Company has not yet elected a policy as to whether it will recognize deferred taxes for basis differences expected to reverse as GILTI or whether 3M will account for GILTI as period costs if and when incurred.