Income Taxes

6 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

During the second quarters of 2020 and 2019, we recorded income tax benefit of $294 million and expense of $35 million related to continuing operations. During the first six months of 2020 and 2019, we recorded income tax benefit of $158 million and expense of $122 million related to continuing operations. During the second quarter of 2020, no tax benefit was recognized for an agreement reached in principle with certain counties in the State of Ohio. Refer to Financial Note 15, “Commitments and Contingent Liabilities,” for more information. Upon finalization of the settlement agreement, the Company will evaluate the tax deductibility of the expected payment. During the first six months of 2019, no tax benefits were recognized for the pre-tax goodwill impairment charges of $570 million related to our European Pharmaceutical Solutions segment given that these charges are not deductible for income tax purposes. Fluctuations in our reported income tax rates are primarily due to the prior year impact of nondeductible impairment charges as well as changes within our business mix of income and discrete items recognized in the quarters.

During the second quarter of 2019, we sold software between wholly-owned legal entities within the McKesson group that are based in different tax jurisdictions. The transferor entity recognized a gain on the sale of assets that was not subject to income tax in its local jurisdiction; such gain was eliminated upon consolidation. An entity based in the U.S. was the acquirer of the software and is entitled to amortize the purchase price of the assets for tax purposes. In the second quarter of 2019, in accordance with the recently adopted amended accounting guidance on income taxes, a discrete tax benefit of $42 million was recognized with a corresponding increase to a deferred tax asset for the future tax amortization.

As of September 30, 2019, we had $985 million of unrecognized tax benefits, of which $812 million would reduce income tax expense and the effective tax rate, if recognized. During the second quarter of 2020, the Company signed a settlement agreement with the state of California regarding an outstanding refund claim. We recognized a net discrete tax benefit of $28 million and a $91 million decrease in our unrecognized tax benefits associated with the settlement of this matter. During the next twelve months, it is reasonably possible that our unrecognized tax benefits may decrease by as much as approximately $60 million due to settlements of tax examinations and statue of limitations expirations based on the information currently available. However, this amount may change as we continue to have ongoing negotiations with various taxing authorities throughout the year.

We file income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction, various U.S. state jurisdictions and various foreign jurisdictions. The IRS is currently examining our U.S. corporation income tax returns for 2013 through 2015. We are generally subject to audit by taxing authorities in various U.S. states and in foreign jurisdictions for fiscal years 2012 through the current fiscal year.