Income Taxes

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Note 24.

Income Taxes

Provision for Income Taxes

Income taxes are provided for using the asset and liability method under which deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for temporary differences between the financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities. The firm reports interest expense related to income tax matters in provision for taxes and income tax penalties in other expenses.

Deferred Income Taxes

Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effects of temporary differences between the financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities. These temporary differences result in taxable or deductible amounts in future years and are measured using the tax rates and laws that will be in effect when such differences are expected to reverse. Valuation allowances are established to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount that more likely than not will be realized and primarily relate to the ability to utilize losses in various tax jurisdictions. Tax assets are included in other assets and tax liabilities are included in other liabilities.

Unrecognized Tax Benefits

The firm recognizes tax positions in the consolidated financial statements only when it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained on examination by the relevant taxing authority based on the technical merits of the position. A position that meets this standard is measured at the largest amount of benefit that will more likely than not be realized on settlement. A liability is established for differences between positions taken in a tax return and amounts recognized in the consolidated financial statements.

Regulatory Tax Examinations

The firm is subject to examination by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and other taxing authorities in jurisdictions where the firm has significant business operations, such as the United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong and various states, such as New York. The tax years under examination vary by jurisdiction. The firm does not expect completion of these audits to have a material impact on the firm’s financial condition, but it may be material to operating results for a particular period, depending, in part, on the operating results for that period.

The table below presents the earliest tax years that remain subject to examination by major jurisdiction.



Jurisdiction			As of March 2020
U.S. Federal			2011
New York State and City			2011
United Kingdom			2017
Japan			2014
Hong Kong			2013

U.S. Federal examinations of 2011 and 2012 began in 2013. The firm has been accepted into the Compliance Assurance Process program by the IRS for each of the tax years from 2013 through 2020. This program allows the firm to work with the IRS to identify and resolve potential U.S. Federal tax issues before the filing of tax returns. The 2013 through 2018 tax years remain subject to post-filing review.

New York State and City examinations (excluding GS Bank USA) of 2011 through 2014 began in 2017. New York State and City examinations for GS Bank USA have been completed through 2014.

All years including and subsequent to the years in the table above remain open to examination by the taxing authorities. The firm believes that the liability for unrecognized tax benefits it has established is adequate in relation to the potential for additional assessments.