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Income Taxes
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2021
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes Income Taxes
Mattel's provision for income taxes was a benefit of $456.8 million and $415.8 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, respectively, and provision for income taxes was an expense of $22.1 million and $46.8 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, Mattel recognized a net discrete tax benefit of $465.3 million and $445.8 million, respectively, primarily related to the release of valuation allowances on certain U.S. and foreign deferred tax assets, income taxes recorded on a discrete basis in various jurisdictions, and reassessments of prior years' tax liabilities. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, Mattel recognized a net discrete tax expense of $1.7 million and $11.4 million, respectively, primarily related to income taxes recorded on a discrete basis in various jurisdictions and reassessments of prior years' tax liabilities.
Evaluating the need for and the amount of a valuation allowance for deferred tax assets often requires significant judgment and extensive analysis of all available evidence to determine whether it is more-likely-than-not that these assets will be realizable. Mattel routinely assesses the positive and negative evidence for this realizability, including the evaluation of sustained profitability and three years of cumulative pretax income for each tax jurisdiction. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, Mattel continued to see improved and sustained profitability, which presents objective positive evidence for the realizability of certain deferred tax assets. As such, based on the overall analysis of the positive and negative evidence in each tax jurisdiction, in the third quarter of 2021 Mattel released the valuation allowances related to U.S. federal deferred tax assets and foreign deferred tax assets, except for certain tax assets that are primarily expected to expire before utilization. Valuation allowance releases in the third quarter of 2021 resulted in recognition of a portion of these deferred tax assets and a benefit to Mattel's provision for income taxes of $492.2 million.
In the normal course of business, Mattel is regularly audited by federal, state, and foreign tax authorities. Based on the current status of federal, state, and foreign audits, Mattel believes it is reasonably possible that in the next twelve months, the total unrecognized tax benefits could decrease by approximately $32 million related to the settlement of tax audits and/or the expiration of statutes of limitations. The ultimate settlement of any particular issue with the applicable taxing authority could have a material impact on Mattel's consolidated financial statements.
Mattel has recorded a deferred tax liability related to undistributed earnings of certain foreign subsidiaries as of September 30, 2021 and September 30, 2020. In the third quarter of 2021, Mattel recorded an approximately $1 million deferred tax liability on $3.5 billion of undistributed foreign earnings for which deferred taxes had not previously been recorded. For remaining undistributed foreign earnings, Mattel has not provided any deferred taxes with respect to items such as foreign withholding taxes, state income tax or foreign exchange gain or loss that would be due when cash is actually repatriated to the U.S. because those foreign earnings are considered indefinitely reinvested in the business or may be remitted substantially free of any additional local taxes. The determination of any incremental tax liability associated with these earnings is not practicable due to the complexity of local country withholding rules and interactions with tax treaties, foreign exchange considerations, and the diversity of state income tax treatment on actual distribution. Mattel will remit reinvested earnings of its foreign subsidiaries for which a deferred tax liability has been recorded when the Company determines that it is advantageous for business operations or cash management purposes.