DHR · 10-Q · 2026Q3 · Full report

Income Tax Rate Changes

DANAHER CORP /DE/ · 2026-10-21 · Importance 60 · Surprise 74 · Matches filing data

Danaher’s effective tax rate was 9.8% for the first nine months of 2026, compared with 15.5% in the comparable 2025 period. Third-quarter and year-to-date 2026 effective tax rates benefited from discrete tax benefits of $263 million and $242 million, respectively, primarily from releases of uncertain-tax-position reserves following audit settlements and statute-of-limitations expirations. Management expects the full-year 2026 effective tax rate to be approximately 17.0%, subject to earnings mix, stock-compensation deductions, tax-contingency resolutions and future tax-law or rate changes.

Key facts

• Net discrete tax benefits of $263 million for the three-month period ended September 25, 2026 decreased the effective tax rate by 23.2% and related primarily to the release of reserves for uncertain tax positions resulting from audit settlements. source
• Net discrete tax benefits of $242 million for the nine-month period ended September 25, 2026 decreased the effective tax rate by 7.0% and related primarily to the release of reserves for uncertain tax positions resulting from audit settlements and expiration of statutes of limitations. source
• Discrete tax benefits related to the release of reserves for uncertain tax positions resulting from audit settlements in 2026 were $263 million (or $0.37 per diluted common share) recorded in the three and nine-month periods ended September 25, 2026. source
• As of the third quarter of 2026, the IRS had completed substantially all examinations of the Company’s federal income tax returns through 2018 and is examining certain federal returns for 2019 through 2022. source
• The Company has subsidiaries in Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Singapore, Spain and various other countries currently under audit for years ranging from 2004 through 2024. source
• The Company recorded an income tax benefit of $28 million in both the three and nine-month periods ended September 25, 2026 related to the release of reserves due to audit settlements associated with uncertain tax positions on certain tax returns jointly filed with Veralto Corporation and Fortive Corporation entities prior to separations. source
• Excluding the named jurisdictions, the Company believes that a change in the statutory tax rate of any individual foreign country would not have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements given geographical dispersion of taxable income. source
• Effective tax rate for three-month period ended September 25, 2026: (6.6)%. source

Impact estimates