Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of income tax expense (benefit)

Income tax expense (benefit) is comprised of the following:

	Year Ended December 31,
(in millions)	2019		2018		2017
Current:
Federal	$	96	$	31	$	(1)
State	5		(7)		(22)
Total current	101		24		(23)
Deferred:
Federal	3		39		(186)
State	25		16		(11)
Total deferred	28		55		(197)
Total income tax expense (benefit)	$	129	$	79	$	(220)

Schedule of reconciliation of total income tax expense (benefit) to income tax expense (benefit) computed by applying the statutory federal income tax rate to pre-tax income (loss)

The following is a reconciliation of total income tax expense (benefit) to income tax expense (benefit) computed by applying the statutory federal income tax rate to pretax income:

	Year Ended December 31,
(in millions)	2019		2018		2017
Tax computed at federal statutory rate	$	103	$	94	$	14
State income taxes, net of federal tax benefit	29		12		(14)
State tax incentives, net of federal tax expense	(4)		(4)		(7)
Noncontrolling interest	4		(23)		1
Other, net	(3)		—		—
Adjustment to deferred tax assets and liabilities for enacted change in federal tax rate (1)	—		—		(214)
Total income tax expense (benefit)	$	129	$	79	$	(220)

(1)The income tax benefit for the year ended December 31, 2017 was favorably impacted as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act legislation that was signed into law in December 2017, reducing the federal income tax rate from 35% to 21% beginning in 2018. As a result, the Company’s net deferred tax liabilities at December 31, 2017 were remeasured to reflect the lower tax rate in effect for the years in which the deferred tax assets and liabilities will be realized.

Schedule of income tax effect of temporary differences that give rise to significant portions of the deferred income tax assets and deferred income tax liabilities

The income tax effect of temporary differences that give rise to the Deferred income tax assets and Deferred income tax liabilities at December 31, 2019 and 2018 are as follows:

	December 31,
(in millions)	2019		2018
Deferred income tax assets:
State tax credit carryforward, net	$	7	$	11
Total gross deferred income tax assets	7		11
Deferred income tax liabilities:
Investment in CVR Partners	(61)		(59)
Investment in CVR Refining	(341)		(327)
Other	(1)		(5)
Total gross deferred income tax liabilities	(403)		(391)
Net deferred income tax liabilities	$	(396)	$	(380)

Schedule of reconciliation of the unrecognized tax benefits

A reconciliation of unrecognized tax benefits is as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
(in millions)	2019		2018		2017
Balance, beginning of year	$	23	$	29	$	44
Increase in current year tax positions (interest expense)	2		—		—
Reductions related to expirations from statute of limitations	(3)		(6)		(15)
Balance, end of year	$	22	$	23	$	29