Income taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2018

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Components of Domestic and Foreign Income and Provision for Current and Deferred Income Taxes

Domestic and foreign components of income before income taxes and the provision for current and deferred income taxes attributable to such income are summarized as follows:

	Yen in millions
	Fiscal year ended March 31
	2016			2017		2018
Income before income taxes:
Sony Corporation and all subsidiaries in Japan		149,256			166,158		436,494
Foreign subsidiaries		155,248			85,461		262,555
		304,504			251,619		699,049
Income taxes — Current:
Sony Corporation and all subsidiaries in Japan		41,080			49,739		69,697
Foreign subsidiaries		53,498			50,521		57,988
		94,578			100,260		127,685
Income taxes — Deferred:
Sony Corporation and all subsidiaries in Japan		(1,745	)		11,478		29,640
Foreign subsidiaries		1,956			12,320		(5,555	)
		211			23,798		24,085
Total income tax expense		94,789			124,058		151,770

Reconciliation of Statutory Tax Rate and Effective Tax Rate

A reconciliation of the differences between the Japanese statutory tax rate and the effective tax rate is as follows:

	Fiscal year ended March 31
	2016			2017			2018
Statutory tax rate		33.6	%		31.7	%		31.5	%
Non-deductible expenses		1.6			2.3			0.8
Income tax credits		(2.0	)		(2.9	)		(0.6	)
Change in statutory tax rate and law		(3.3	)		0.3			(1.2	)
Change in valuation allowances		10.7			7.3			(5.2	)
Change in deferred tax liabilities on undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries and corporate joint ventures		(0.8	)		(1.4	)		(0.8	)
Lower tax rate applied to life and non-life insurance business in Japan		(2.3	)		(2.2	)		(0.8	)
Foreign income tax differential		(6.9	)		(3.0	)		(2.6	)
Adjustments to tax reserves		0.7			(1.1	)		(0.8	)
Effect of equity in net income of affiliated companies		0.0			0.0			0.0
Impairment of goodwill in the Pictures segment		—			15.0			—
Other		(0.2	)		3.3			1.4
Effective income tax rate		31.1	%		49.3	%		21.7	%

Components of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

The significant components of deferred tax assets and liabilities are as follows:

	Yen in millions
	March 31
	2017			2018
Deferred tax assets:
Operating loss carryforwards for tax purposes		455,555			439,206
Accrued pension and severance costs		112,075			106,161
Amortization including film costs		181,243			95,069
Warranty reserves and accrued expenses		110,475			104,410
Future insurance policy benefits		30,884			33,812
Inventory		16,322			15,792
Depreciation		47,485			43,353
Tax credit carryforwards		134,427			125,327
Reserve for doubtful accounts		10,887			8,534
Impairment of investments		52,451			14,146
Deferred revenue		27,294			14,478
Other		158,420			132,800
Gross deferred tax assets		1,337,518			1,133,088
Less: Valuation allowance		(1,051,964	)		(899,835	)
Total deferred tax assets		285,554			233,253
Deferred tax liabilities:
Insurance acquisition costs		(160,308	)		(166,717	)
Future insurance policy benefits		(147,159	)		(167,058	)
Unbilled accounts receivable in the Pictures segment		(113,997	)		(63,196	)
Unrealized gains on securities		(78,643	)		(83,298	)
Intangible assets acquired through stock exchange offerings		(23,794	)		(23,949	)
Undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries and corporate joint ventures		(26,473	)		(14,160	)
Investment in M3		(34,775	)		(35,802	)
Other		(34,271	)		(32,164	)
Gross deferred tax liabilities		(619,420	)		(586,344	)
Net deferred tax liabilities		(333,866	)		(353,091	)

Reconciliation of Beginning and Ending Gross Amounts of Unrecognized Tax Benefits

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

	Yen in millions
	March 31
	2016			2017			2018
Balance at beginning of the fiscal year		165,434			114,126			119,529
Reductions for tax positions of prior years		(34,261	)		(558	)		(8,809	)
Additions for tax positions of prior years		6,253			13,353			4,681
Additions based on tax positions related to the current year		4,299			8,231			5,740
Settlements		(12,556	)		(8,300	)		(21,893	)
Lapse in statute of limitations		(8,229	)		(3,454	)		(3,469	)
Foreign currency translation adjustments		(6,814	)		(3,869	)		(354	)
Balance at end of the fiscal year		114,126			119,529			95,425
Total net amount of unrecognized tax benefits that, if recognized, would affect the effective tax rate		49,323			45,987			39,308