Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Components of Income Tax Expense (Benefit) [Table Text Block]

Income tax expense (benefit) consists of the following for the years ended December 31 (in millions):



	2014			2013			2012
Current:
Federal	$	(1,872	)	$	(985	)	$	(1,314	)
State	(3		)	(2		)	(67		)
Foreign	129			121			121
	(1,746		)	(866		)	(1,260		)
Deferred:
Federal	2,296			1,306			1,475
State	37			(247		)	(11		)
Foreign	11			(59		)	(51		)
	2,344			1,000			1,413

Investment tax credits - the Utilities	(9		)	(4		)	(5		)
Total	$	589		$	130		$	148

Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation [Table Text Block]

A reconciliation of the federal statutory income tax rate to the effective income tax rate applicable to income before income tax expense is as follows for the years ended December 31:



	2014		2013		2012

Federal statutory income tax rate	35	%	35	%	35	%
Income tax credits	(10	)	(14	)	(14	)
State income tax, net of federal income tax benefit	1		(9	)	(3	)
Income tax effect of foreign income	(3	)	(6	)	(7	)
Equity income (loss)	2		(1	)	2
Other, net	(2	)	2		(4	)
Effective income tax rate	23	%	7	%	9	%

Components of Net Deferred Income Tax Liability [Table Text Block]

The net deferred income tax liability consists of the following as of December 31 (in millions):



	2014			2013
Deferred income tax assets:
Federal and state carryforwards	$	781		$	1,001
Regulatory liabilities	812			825
AROs	249			234
Employee benefits	187			75
Derivative contracts	62			28
Other	781			740
Total deferred income tax assets	2,872			2,903
Valuation allowances	(23		)	(29		)
Total deferred income tax assets, net	2,849			2,874

Deferred income tax liabilities:
Property-related items	(11,989		)	(10,727		)
Regulatory assets	(1,374		)	(1,047		)
Investments	(699		)	(767		)
Other	(301		)	(287		)
Total deferred income tax liabilities	(14,363		)	(12,828		)
Net deferred income tax liability	$	(11,514	)	$	(9,954	)

Reflected as:
Current assets - other	$	291		$	211
Current liabilities - other	(3		)	(7		)
Deferred income taxes	(11,802		)	(10,158		)
	$	(11,514	)	$	(9,954	)

Summary of Operating Loss Carryforwards [Table Text Block]

The following table provides the Company's net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards and expiration dates as of December 31, 2014 (in millions):



	Federal		State
Net operating loss carryforwards⁽¹⁾	$	409	$	8,629
Deferred income taxes on net operating loss carryforwards	$	155	$	474
Expiration dates	2023-2034		2015-2034

Foreign and other tax credits⁽²⁾	$	122	$	30
Expiration dates	2023- indefinite		2016- indefinite


(1)	The federal net operating loss carry forwards relate principally to net operating loss carryforwards of NV Energy generated prior to BHE's ownership.


(2)	Includes $74 million of deferred foreign tax credits associated with the federal income tax on unremitted tax earnings and profit pools that will begin to be creditable and expire 10 years after the date the foreign earnings are repatriated through actual or deemed dividends. As of December 31, 2014 the statute of limitation had not begun on the foreign tax credit carryforwards.

Net Unrecognized Tax Benefits Roll Forward [Table Text Block]

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances of the Company's net unrecognized tax benefits is as follows for the years ended December 31 (in millions):



	2014			2013

Beginning balance	$	211		$	223
Additions based on tax positions related to the current year	11			18
Additions for tax positions of prior years	48			80
Reductions for tax positions of prior years	(50		)	(106		)
Statute of limitations	(1		)	4
Settlements	—			(10		)
Interest and penalties	1			2
Ending balance	$	220		$	211