Income Tax (Tables)

12 Months Ended

May 31, 2012

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule Of Unrecognized Tax Benefits Roll Forward [Table Text Block]

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amounts of unrecognized tax benefits is as follows:

	2012			2011			2010
	(in thousands)
Balance at the beginning of the year	$	37,197		$	20,750		$	10,313
Additions based on tax positions related to the current year	10,684			13,608			13,106
Additions for tax positions of prior years	118			287			151
Foreign currency impact for tax positions	(2,340		)	2,741			(796		)
Reductions for tax positions of prior years	(64		)	(56		)	(2,024		)
Settlements with taxing authorities	—			(133		)	—
Balance at the end of the year	$	45,595		$	37,197		$	20,750

Schedule of Components of Income Tax Expense (Benefit) [Table Text Block]

The provisions for income taxes for the fiscal years ended May 31 include:

	2012			2011			2010
	(in thousands)
Current tax expense:
Federal	$	52,875		$	42,034		$	37,151
State	2,989			2,597			1,561
Foreign	35,029			18,358			14,266
	90,893			62,989			52,978
Deferred tax (benefit) expense:
Federal	(21,088		)	17,849			23,240
State	(813		)	(1,045		)	1,933
Foreign	13,889			15,283			9,228
	(8,012		)	32,087			34,401
Provision for income taxes	82,881			95,076			87,379
Tax allocated to noncontrolling interest in a taxable entity	(6,604		)	(3,027		)	(587		)
Net income tax expense attributable to Global Payments	$	76,277		$	92,049		$	86,792

Schedule of Income before Income Tax, Domestic and Foreign [Table Text Block]

The following presents our income before income taxes on continuing operations for the fiscal years ended May 31:

	2012		2011		2010
	(in thousands)
Income before income taxes and noncontrolling interest - U.S.	$	103,163	$	177,345	$	189,116
Income before income taxes and noncontrolling interest - Foreign	197,284		146,862		121,273
Income from continuing operations before income taxes	$	300,447	$	324,207	$	310,389

Schedule of Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation [Table Text Block]

Our effective tax rates, as applied to income before income taxes on continuing operations for the years ended May 31, 2012, 2011, and 2010 respectively, differ from federal statutory rates as follows:

	2012		2011		2010
Federal statutory rate	35.0	%	35.0	%	35.0	%
State income taxes, net of federal income tax benefit	0.5		0.3		0.8
Foreign income taxes	(6.3	)	(3.8	)	(3.3	)
Foreign interest income not subject to tax	(2.2	)	(2.7	)	(1.9	)
Tax credits and other	1.8		1.4		(1.0	)
Effective tax rate attributable to Global Payments	28.8	%	30.2	%	29.6	%
Noncontrolling interest	(1.2	)	(0.9	)	(1.4	)
Effective tax rate	27.6	%	29.3	%	28.2	%

Schedule of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities [Table Text Block]

As of May 31, 2012 and 2011, principal components of deferred tax items were as follows:

	2012			2011
	(in thousands)
Deferred tax assets:
Equity compensation	$	11,888		$	11,734
Bad debt expense	2,415			2,612
Foreign NOL carryforward	4,639			3,050
U.S. NOL carryforward	1,083			1,945
U.S. capital loss carryforward	19,905			19,886
Basis difference - UK business	92,802			100,646
Foreign Tax Credit	12,468			13,196
Processing system intrusion	24,361			—
Other Tax credits	1,731			1,731
	171,292			154,800
Less: valuation allowance	(26,090		)	(28,629		)
Net deferred tax asset	145,202			126,171
Deferred tax liabilities:
Taxes on unremitted earnings and other	9,744			6,206
Foreign currency translation	30,745			37,452
Acquired intangibles	41,333			42,389
Prepaid expenses	2,632			3,330
Property and equipment	48,188			46,140
	132,642			135,517
Net deferred tax liability	12,560			(9,346		)
Less: current net deferred tax asset	21,969			2,946
Net noncurrent deferred tax liability	$	(9,409	)	$	(12,292	)

Net Deferred Tax Asset and Liability, Balance Sheet Location [Table Text Block]

The net deferred tax liability and asset is reflected on our consolidated balance sheets as follows:

	2012			2011
	(in thousands)
Non-current deferred income tax asset per balance sheet	$	97,235		$	104,140
Non-current deferred income tax liability per balance sheet	(106,644		)	(116,432		)
Net non-current deferred tax liability	$	(9,409	)	$	(12,292	)

Summary of Valuation Allowance [Table Text Block]

Changes to our valuation allowance during the fiscal year ended May 31, 2012 and 2011 are summarized below (in thousands):

Valuation allowance at May 31, 2010	$	(22,406	)
Allowance for net operating losses of foreign subsidiaries	(422		)
Allowance for U.S. capital loss carryforward	(1,876		)
Allowance for foreign tax credit carryforward	(3,701		)
Other	(224		)
Valuation allowance at May 31, 2011	$	(28,629	)
Allowance for net operating losses of foreign subsidiaries	(1,012		)
Release of allowance for foreign tax credit carryforward	3,686
Other	(135		)
Valuation allowance at May 31, 2012	$	(26,090	)