Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

May 31, 2021

Schedule of Components of Provision for Income Taxes

The components of the provision for income taxes for the years ended May 31 were as follows (in millions):

	2021		2020			2019
Current provision (benefit)
Domestic:
Federal	$	199	$	(230	)	$	(107	)
State and local		158		67			64
Foreign		284		198			243
		641		35			200
Deferred provision (benefit)
Domestic:
Federal		667		475			(61	)
State and local		70		1			(7	)
Foreign		65		(128	)		(17	)
		802		348			(85	)
	$	1,443	$	383		$	115

Schedule of Reconciliation of Total Income Tax Expense and Amount Computed by Statutory Federal Income Tax Rate to Income Before Income Taxes

A reconciliation of total income tax expense and the amount computed by applying the statutory federal income tax to income before income taxes for the years ended May 31 is as follows (dollars in millions):

	2021			2020			2019
Taxes computed at federal statutory rate	$	1,401		$	350		$	138
(Decreases) increases in income tax from:
Benefit from U.S. tax loss carryback to prior years		(279	)		(71	)		—
State and local income taxes, net of federal benefit		179			53			44
Foreign operations		138			38			(1	)
Benefits from share-based payments		(69	)		(5	)		(18	)
Uncertain tax positions		65			(14	)		8
Foreign tax rate enactments		(61	)		(10	)		50
Non-deductible expenses		53			70			79
Valuation allowance		14			(129	)		(79	)
Goodwill impairment charges		—			75			—
U.S. deferred tax adjustments related to foreign operations		—			51			—
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”)		—			—			(71	)
Foreign tax credits from distributions		—			—			(8	)
Other, net		2			(25	)		(27	)
Provision for income taxes	$	1,443		$	383		$	115
Effective Tax Rate		21.6	%		23.0	%		17.6	%

Schedule of Significant Components of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

The significant components of deferred tax assets and liabilities as of May 31 were as follows (in millions):

	2021					2020
	Deferred Tax Assets			Deferred Tax Liabilities		Deferred Tax Assets			Deferred Tax Liabilities
Property, equipment, leases and intangibles	$	4,248		$	9,731	$	3,819		$	8,745
Employee benefits		1,178			—		1,448			—
Self-insurance accruals		799			—		647			—
Other		497			52		579			375
Net operating loss/credit carryforwards		934			—		1,262			—
Valuation allowances		(382	)		—		(450	)		—
	$	7,274		$	9,783	$	7,305		$	9,120

Schedule of Net Deferred Tax Liabilities

The net deferred tax liabilities as of May 31 have been classified in the balance sheets as follows (in millions):

	2021			2020
Noncurrent deferred tax assets⁽¹⁾	$	1,418		$	1,347
Noncurrent deferred tax liabilities		(3,927	)		(3,162	)
	$	(2,509	)	$	(1,815	)

⁽¹⁾	Noncurrent deferred tax assets are included in the line item “Other Assets” in our accompanying consolidated balance sheets.

Reconciliation of Beginning and Ending Amount of Unrecognized Tax Benefits

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits is as follows (in millions):

	2021			2020			2019
Balance at beginning of year	$	129		$	164		$	161
Increases for tax positions taken in the current year		3			3			—
Increases for tax positions taken in prior years		69			4			31
Decreases for tax positions taken in prior years		(6	)		(10	)		(4	)
Settlements		(6	)		(31	)		(21	)
Changes due to currency translation		3			(1	)		(3	)
Balance at end of year	$	192		$	129		$	164