XML 67 R55.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v3.20.2

Income Taxes - Tax Effected Operating Loss, Capital Loss, and Tax Credit Carryovers (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions | 3 Months Ended | 9 Months Ended |
--- | --- | --- | ---
Sep. 30, 2020 | Sep. 30, 2019 | Sep. 30, 2020 | Sep. 30, 2019 | Dec. 31, 2019
Income tax |  |  |  |  |
Net UTB impacting the effective tax rate | $ 1,155 |  | $ 1,155 |  | $ 1,178
Deferred tax assets valuation allowance | $ 124 |  | $ 124 |  | 158
Effective tax rate (as a percent) | 21.40% | 19.30% | 20.00% | 19.70% |
Increase in effective income tax rate from prior reporting period to current reporting period (as a percent) | 2.10% |  |  |  |
Decrease in unrecognized tax benefits due to resolution of a lawsuit |  |  | $ 52 |  |
Reinvested earnings that may be repatriated from non-U.S. subsidiaries | $ 5,000 |  | 5,000 |  |
Indefintely undistributed earnings of non-U.S. subsidiaries | $ 9,000 |  | $ 9,000 |  | $ 14,000

X
- Definition Decrease in unrecognized tax benefit due to the tax treatment of an agreement reached on a lawsuit. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | mmm_DecreaseInUnrecognizedTaxBenefitDueToLawsuit
Namespace Prefix: | mmm_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition The difference between the effective income tax rate from the prior reporting period to the current reporting period (as a percent). + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | mmm_EffectiveIncomeTaxRateChangeFromPriorReportingPeriodToCurrentReportingPeriod
Namespace Prefix: | mmm_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- References No definition available. + Details
Name: | mmm_IncomeTaxAbstract
Namespace Prefix: | mmm_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Amount of undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries intended to be indefinitely reinvested outside the country of domicile. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | mmm_IndefinitelyUndistributedEarningsOfForeignSubsidiaries
Namespace Prefix: | mmm_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | credit
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Amount of undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries which can be repatriated to the country of domicile. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | mmm_ReinvestedEarningsOfForeignSubsidiariesPotentiallyRepatriated
Namespace Prefix: | mmm_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | credit
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Amount of deferred tax assets for which it is more likely than not that a tax benefit will not be realized. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -Subparagraph (c) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84230637&loc=d3e32537-109319 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_DeferredTaxAssetsValuationAllowance
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | credit
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Percentage of current income tax expense (benefit) and deferred income tax expense (benefit) pertaining to continuing operations. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 12 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84230637&loc=d3e32687-109319 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_EffectiveIncomeTaxRateContinuingOperations
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition The total amount of unrecognized tax benefits that, if recognized, would affect the effective tax rate. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 15A -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84230637&loc=SL6600010-109319 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_UnrecognizedTaxBenefitsThatWouldImpactEffectiveTaxRate
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | credit
Period Type: | instant