Income taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

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
	2018			2019			2020
Income before income taxes:
Sony Corporation and all subsidiaries in Japan		436,494			310,020			466,253
Foreign subsidiaries		262,555			701,628			333,197
		699,049			1,011,648			799,450
Income taxes—Current:
Sony Corporation and all subsidiaries in Japan		69,697			82,081			105,755
Foreign subsidiaries		57,988			84,667			66,636
		127,685			166,748			172,391
Income taxes—Deferred:
Sony Corporation and all subsidiaries in Japan		29,640			17,907			9,421
Foreign subsidiaries		(5,555	)		(139,557	)		(4,622	)
		24,085			(121,650	)		4,799
Total income tax expense		151,770			45,098			177,190

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
	2018			2019			2020
Statutory tax rate		31.5	%		31.5	%		31.5	%
Non-deductible expenses		0.8			0.7			0.3
Income tax credits		(0.6	)		(1.6	)		(1.7	)
Change in statutory tax rate and law		(1.2	)		(0.3	)		(0.4	)
Change in valuation allowances (other than the 2019 reversal of Sony Americas Holding Inc. (“SAHI”) and its U.S. consolidated tax filing group below)		(5.2	)		2.3			(8.1	)
The 2019 reversal of valuation allowances of SAHI and its U.S. consolidated tax filing group		—			(15.3	)		—
Change in deferred tax liabilities on undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries and corporate joint ventures		(0.8	)		(0.1	)		0.2
Lower tax rate applied to life and non-life insurance business in Japan		(0.8	)		(0.5	)		(0.6	)
Foreign income tax differential		(2.6	)		(6.4	)		(2.4	)
Adjustments to tax reserves		(0.8	)		(0.3	)		0.9
Effect of equity in net income of affiliated companies		0.0			0.0			0.0
The remeasurement gain for the equity interest in EMI		—			(2.4	)		—
Japan controlled foreign company taxation		—			0.0			5.3
Other		1.4			(3.1	)		(2.8	)
Effective income tax rate		21.7	%		4.5	%		22.2	%

Components of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

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

	Yen in millions
	March 31
	2019			2020
Deferred tax assets:
Operating loss carryforwards for tax purposes		413,494			348,714
Accrued pension and severance costs		103,652			77,559
Amortization including film costs		86,196			65,349
Lease liability		—			100,720
Warranty reserves and accrued expenses		108,515			116,234
Future insurance policy benefits		36,683			42,056
Inventory		19,716			15,512
Depreciation		34,638			39,085
Tax credit carryforwards		117,471			94,900
Loss on equity securities		—			11,815
Reserve for doubtful accounts		9,136			9,090
Impairment of investments		12,278			6,029
Deferred revenue		19,081			24,420
Other		169,897			122,591
Gross deferred tax assets		1,130,757			1,074,074
Less: Valuation allowance		(723,114	)		(608,243	)
Total deferred tax assets		407,643			465,831
Deferred tax liabilities:
Insurance acquisition costs		(169,244	)		(170,868	)
Future insurance policy benefits		(181,052	)		(193,315	)
Unbilled accounts receivable in the Pictures segment		(44,842	)		(26,214	)
Right-of-use assets		—			(96,970	)
Unrealized gains on securities		(75,573	)		(92,791	)
Gain on equity securities		(33,082	)		—
Intangible assets acquired through stock exchange offerings		(23,949	)		(23,949	)
Intangible assets derived from EMI Music Publishing acquisition		(93,979	)		(89,909	)
Undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries and corporate joint ventures		(15,758	)		(25,359	)
Investment in M3		(37,007	)		(38,303	)
Other		(62,092	)		(47,319	)
Gross deferred tax liabilities		(736,578	)		(804,997	)
Net deferred tax liabilities		(328,935	)		(339,166	)

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
	2018			2019			2020
Balance at beginning of the fiscal year		119,529			95,425			50,577
Reductions for tax positions of prior years		(8,809	)		(31,396	)		(331	)
Additions for tax positions of prior years		4,681			3,094			162
Additions based on tax positions related to the current year		5,740			2,594			8,074
Settlements		(21,893	)		(4,235	)		(13,240	)
Lapse in statute of limitations		(3,469	)		(14,824	)		(1,251	)
Foreign currency translation adjustments		(354	)		(81	)		(2,723	)
Balance at end of the fiscal year		95,425			50,577			41,268
Total net amount of unrecognized tax benefits that, if recognized, would affect the effective tax rate		39,308			35,004			29,539