Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

May 31, 2017

Income Taxes Tables [Abstract]

Schedule of Components of Provision for Income Taxes

The components of the provision for income taxes for the years ended May 31 were as follows (in millions):

	2017			2016			2015
Current provision
Domestic:
Federal	$	269		$	513		$	795
State and local		88			72			102
Foreign		285			200			214
		642			785			1,111
Deferred provision (benefit)
Domestic:
Federal		989			155			(474	)
State and local		59			(18	)		(47	)
Foreign		(108	)		(2	)		(13	)
		940			135			(534	)
	$	1,582		$	920		$	577

Schedule of Reconciliation of Total Income Tax Expense and Amount Computed by Statutory Federal Income Tax Rate to Income Before Taxes

A reconciliation of total income tax expense and the amount computed by applying the statutory federal income tax rate (35%) to income before taxes for the years ended May 31 is as follows (in millions):

	2017			2016			2015
Taxes computed at federal statutory rate	$	1,603		$	959		$	569
Increases (decreases) in income tax from:
State and local income taxes, net of federal benefit		99			33			36
Foreign operations		(87	)		(50	)		(43	)
Legal entity restructuring		—			(76	)		—
TNT Express integration/acquisition costs		25			40			—
Other, net		(58	)		14			15
	$	1,582		$	920		$	577
Effective Tax Rate		34.6	%		33.6	%		35.5	%

Schedule of Significant Components of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

The significant components of deferred tax assets and liabilities as of May 31 were as follows (in millions):

	2017					2016
	Deferred Tax Assets			Deferred Tax Liabilities		Deferred Tax Assets			Deferred Tax Liabilities
Property, equipment, leases and intangibles	$	124		$	4,993	$	129		$	4,767
Employee benefits		1,951			—		2,453			—
Self-insurance accruals		745			—		681			—
Other		692			660		528			343
Net operating loss/credit carryforwards		1,069			—		925			—
Valuation allowances		(738	)		—		(738	)		—
	$	3,843		$	5,653	$	3,978		$	5,110

Schedule of Net Deferred Tax Liabilities

The net deferred tax liabilities as of May 31 have been classified in the balance sheets as follows (in millions):

	2017			2016
Noncurrent deferred tax assets(1)	$	675		$	435
Noncurrent deferred tax liabilities		(2,485	)		(1,567	)
	$	(1,810	)	$	(1,132	)

⁽¹⁾ Noncurrent deferred tax assets are included in the line item “Other Assets” in our consolidated balance sheets.

Reconciliation of Beginning and Ending Amount of Unrecognized Tax Benefits

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits is as follows (in millions):

	2017			2016			2015
Balance at beginning of year	$	49		$	36		$	38
Increases for tax positions taken in the current year		—			3			1
Increases for tax positions taken in prior years		8			3			6
Increase for business acquisition		17			25			—
Decreases for tax positions taken in prior years		(1	)		(5	)		(2	)
Settlements		(4	)		(4	)		(2	)
Decreases from lapse of statute of limitations		(2	)		(7	)		—
Changes due to currency translation		—			(2	)		(5	)
Balance at end of year	$	67		$	49		$	36