Income Taxes	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2020
Income Taxes.
Income Taxes	NOTE 8. Income Taxes The Company is under IRS examination or appeals for the tax years 2017 through 2018. The IRS has completed its field examination of the U.S. federal income tax returns for all years for 2005 through 2016, but the years have not closed as the Company is in the process of resolving issues identified during those examinations. In addition to the U.S. federal examination, there is also audit activity in several U.S. state and foreign jurisdictions where the Company is subject to ongoing tax examinations and governmental assessments, which could be impacted by evolving political environments in those jurisdictions. As of September 30, 2020, no taxing authority has proposed significant adjustments to the Company’s tax positions for which the Company is not adequately reserved. It is reasonably possible that the amount of unrecognized tax benefits could significantly change within the next 12 months. At this time, the Company is not able to estimate the range by which these potential events could impact 3M’s unrecognized tax benefits in the next 12 months. The total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits that, if recognized, would affect the effective tax rate as of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 are $1,155 million and $1,178 million, respectively. The change in unrecognized tax benefits during 2020 includes a $52 million decrease associated with the tax treatment of the 2018 agreement reached with the State of Minnesota that resolved the Natural Resources Damages (NRD) lawsuit. As of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company had valuation allowances of $124 million and $158 million on its deferred tax assets, respectively. The effective tax rate for the third quarter of 2020 was 21.4 percent, compared to 19.3 percent in the third quarter of 2019, an increase of 2.1 percentage points. The primary factor contributing to the increase was nonrepeating 2019 favorable adjustments related to international tax provisions of U.S. tax reform. The effective tax rate for the first nine months of 2020 was 20.0 percent, compared to 19.7 percent in the first nine months of 2019, largely consistent year-on-year. The Company previously disclosed as of December 31, 2019 that approximately $14 billion of the undistributed earnings of its foreign subsidiaries were considered indefinitely reinvested. During the third quarter of 2020, 3M determined that approximately $5 billion of these earnings are no longer considered permanently reinvested. The incremental tax cost to repatriate these earnings to the US is immaterial. The Company has not provided deferred taxes on approximately $9 billion of undistributed earnings from non-U.S. subsidiaries as of September 30, 2020 which are indefinitely reinvested in operations. Because of the multiple avenues by which to repatriate the earnings to minimize tax cost, and because a large portion of these earnings are not liquid, it is not practical to determine the income tax liability that would be payable if such earnings were not reinvested indefinitely. In March 2020, in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. and across the globe, the United States Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The enactment period impacts to 3M were immaterial to income tax expense.

Income Taxes

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

NOTE 8. Income Taxes

The Company is under IRS examination or appeals for the tax years 2017 through 2018. The IRS has completed its field examination of the U.S. federal income tax returns for all years for 2005 through 2016, but the years have not closed as the Company is in the process of resolving issues identified during those examinations. In addition to the U.S. federal examination, there is also audit activity in several U.S. state and foreign jurisdictions where the Company is subject to ongoing tax examinations and governmental assessments, which could be impacted by evolving political environments in those jurisdictions. As of September 30, 2020, no taxing authority has proposed significant adjustments to the Company’s tax positions for which the Company is not adequately reserved.

It is reasonably possible that the amount of unrecognized tax benefits could significantly change within the next 12 months. At this time, the Company is not able to estimate the range by which these potential events could impact 3M’s unrecognized tax benefits in the next 12 months. The total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits that, if recognized, would affect the effective tax rate as of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 are $1,155 million and $1,178 million, respectively. The change in unrecognized tax benefits during 2020 includes a $52 million decrease associated with the tax treatment of the 2018 agreement reached with the State of Minnesota that resolved the Natural Resources Damages (NRD) lawsuit.

As of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company had valuation allowances of $124 million and $158 million on its deferred tax assets, respectively.

The effective tax rate for the third quarter of 2020 was 21.4 percent, compared to 19.3 percent in the third quarter of 2019, an increase of 2.1 percentage points. The primary factor contributing to the increase was nonrepeating 2019 favorable adjustments related to international tax provisions of U.S. tax reform.

The effective tax rate for the first nine months of 2020 was 20.0 percent, compared to 19.7 percent in the first nine months of 2019, largely consistent year-on-year.

The Company previously disclosed as of December 31, 2019 that approximately $14 billion of the undistributed earnings of its foreign subsidiaries were considered indefinitely reinvested. During the third quarter of 2020, 3M determined that approximately $5 billion of these earnings are no longer considered permanently reinvested. The incremental tax cost to repatriate these earnings to the US is immaterial. The Company has not provided deferred taxes on approximately $9 billion of undistributed earnings from non-U.S. subsidiaries as of September 30, 2020 which are indefinitely reinvested in operations. Because of the multiple avenues by which to repatriate the earnings to minimize tax cost, and because a large portion of these earnings are not liquid, it is not practical to determine the income tax liability that would be payable if such earnings were not reinvested indefinitely.

In March 2020, in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. and across the globe, the United States Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The enactment period impacts to 3M were immaterial to income tax expense.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for income taxes. Disclosures may include net deferred tax liability or asset recognized in an enterprise's statement of financial position, net change during the year in the total valuation allowance, approximate tax effect of each type of temporary difference and carryforward that gives rise to a significant portion of deferred tax liabilities and deferred tax assets, utilization of a tax carryback, and tax uncertainties information.

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