INCOME TAXES |
6 Months Ended |
|---|---|
Jun. 30, 2026 | |
| Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract] | |
| INCOME TAXES | INCOME TAXES Income tax expense consists of U.S. and international income taxes, determined using an estimate of the Company's annual effective tax rate, which is based upon the applicable tax rates and tax laws of the countries in which the income is generated. The Company's effective tax rates for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026 were 23.8% and 23.4%, respectively, compared to 18.9% and 18.1% for the three and six months ended June 30, 2025, respectively. The Company's 2026 effective tax rates differ from the U.S. federal statutory tax rate of 21%, primarily due to higher international tax rates, a valuation allowance relating to the carryforward of U.S. federal interest expense and certain other deferred tax assets, certain non-deductible expenses, unrecognized tax benefits, and U.S. federal and state tax associated with the Company's international earnings, partially offset by the benefit of the Netherlands Innovation Box Tax (discussed below). The Company's 2025 effective tax rates differed from the U.S. federal statutory tax rate of 21%, primarily due to the benefit of the Netherlands Innovation Box Tax, partially offset by higher international tax rates, U.S. federal and state tax associated with the Company's international earnings, and certain non-deductible expenses. The Company's effective tax rate for the three months ended June 30, 2026 was higher than the effective tax rate for the three months ended June 30, 2025, primarily due to higher unrecognized tax benefits, a valuation allowance relating to the carryforward of U.S. federal interest expense, and certain higher discrete tax expenses, partially offset by lower U.S. federal tax associated with the Company's international earnings. The Company's effective tax rate for the six months ended June 30, 2026 was higher than the effective tax rate for the six months ended June 30, 2025, primarily due to lower discrete tax benefits related to stock-based compensation, higher unrecognized tax benefits, and a valuation allowance relating to the carryforward of U.S. federal interest expense, partially offset by lower U.S. federal tax associated with the Company's international earnings. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (the "BBB Act") made changes to certain international, foreign tax credit, and domestic tax provisions in the U.S. effective in 2025 and 2026. Certain provisions of the BBB Act that are effective in 2026 and impact the Company's effective tax rate include U.S. interest expense limitation rules and utilization of additional foreign tax credits in calculating U.S. federal tax associated with the Company's international earnings. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2026 and 2025, a majority of the Company's income was reported in the Netherlands, where Booking.com is based. According to Dutch corporate income tax law, income generated from qualifying innovative activities is taxed at a rate of 9% ("Innovation Box Tax") rather than the Dutch statutory rate of 25.8%. A portion of Booking.com's earnings during the three and six months ended June 30, 2026 and 2025 qualified for Innovation Box Tax treatment, which had a beneficial impact on the Company's effective tax rates for these periods. The aggregate amount of unrecognized tax benefits for all matters at June 30, 2026 and December 31, 2025 was $313 million and $250 million, respectively. As of June 30, 2026, net unrecognized tax benefits of $302 million, if recognized, would impact the effective tax rate. As of June 30, 2026 and December 31, 2025, total gross interest and penalties accrued was $9 million and $7 million, respectively. The increase in unrecognized tax benefits primarily relates to certain 2018 U.S. federal taxes of the Company that may be impacted by the April 2026 U.S. Tax Court decision in Varian Medical Systems, Inc. vs. Commissioner. The majority of unrecognized tax benefits are included in "Other assets, net" in the Unaudited Consolidated Balance Sheet as of June 30, 2026.
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