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Income Taxes
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes Income Taxes
Income Before Income Taxes. The sources of income from operations before income taxes are:

(dollars in millions)202020192018
United States$105 $470 $504 
Foreign1,406 1,391 1,389 
$1,511 $1,861 $1,893 

Following enactment of the TCJA, and as part of the historical UTC assertion, the Company determined that it no longer intends to reinvest certain undistributed earnings of its international subsidiaries that have been previously taxed in the U.S. As such, in 2018 Otis recorded the international taxes associated with the future remittance of these earnings. As part of the Separation process, the Company re-assessed this position as a standalone company. The Company no longer intends to reinvest certain undistributed earnings of its international subsidiaries that have been previously taxed in the U.S. The international taxes recorded relative to this assertion differ from those recorded in 2018. As a result of the change in assertion, the Company recognized a one-time tax benefit of $10 million during the year resulting from an overall reduction in the liability previously recorded by UTC. For the remainder of the Company's undistributed international earnings, unless tax effective to repatriate, Otis will continue to permanently reinvest these earnings. As of December 31, 2020, such undistributed earnings were approximately $3.5 billion, excluding other comprehensive income amounts. It is not practicable to estimate the amount of tax that might be payable on the remaining amounts.

Provision for Income Taxes. The income tax expense (benefit) for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 consisted of the following components:

(dollars in millions)
202020192018
Current:
United States:
Federal$42 $103 $59 
State26 38 38 
Foreign438 461 459 
506 602 556 
Future:
United States:
Federal8 11 (11)
State(8)— 
Foreign(51)(19)131 
(51)(8)127 
Income tax expense$455 $594 $683 
Attributable to items (charged) credited to (deficit) equity$(6)$(14)$(4)

Reconciliation of Effective Income Tax Rate. Differences between effective income tax rates and the statutory U.S. federal income tax rate are as follows:

202020192018
Statutory U.S. federal income tax rate21.0 %21.0 %21.0 %
State income taxes0.9 %1.7 %1.6 %
Tax on international activities4.4 %6.5 %14.0 %
U.S. tax effect of foreign earnings3.4 %2.9 %(0.1)%
Other0.4 %(0.2)%(0.4)%
Effective income tax rate30.1 %31.9 %36.1 %
The 2020 effective tax rate is higher than the statutory U.S. rate primarily due to higher international tax rates as compared to the lower U.S. federal statutory rate and foreign earnings subject to U.S. tax under the provisions of the TCJA.

The 2020 effective tax rate compared to the 2019 effective tax rate reflects a tax benefit of $10 million related to our change in assertion of no longer intending to reinvest certain undistributed earnings of our international subsidiaries made during the year as compared to the liability previously recorded by UTC, a decrease as a result of tax regulations related to the TCJA that were enacted during the year, as well as a recognition of a Separation-related foreign tax loss. These were partially offset by incremental withholding taxes in 2020.

The 2019 effective tax rate is higher than the statutory U.S. rate primarily due to higher international tax rates as compared to the lower U.S. federal statutory rate, and the full phase-in of the TCJA.

The 2019 effective tax rate compared to the 2018 effective tax rate reflects a decrease in the cost of U.S. and foreign tax on international activities primarily attributable to the absence of the net tax charge of $143 million as a result of UTC’s change of assertion of no longer intending to reinvest certain undistributed earnings of its international subsidiaries, offset by the full phase-in of the TCJA.

The 2018 effective tax rate is higher than the statutory U.S. rate as it reflects a net tax charge of $143 million as a result of UTC’s change of assertion of no longer intending to reinvest certain undistributed earnings of its international subsidiaries.

Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities. Future income taxes represent the tax effects of transactions which are reported in different periods for tax and financial reporting purposes. These amounts consist of the tax effects of temporary differences between the tax and financial reporting balance sheets and tax carryforwards. Future income tax benefits and payables within the same tax paying component of a particular jurisdiction are offset for presentation in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The tax effects of temporary differences and tax carryforwards which gave rise to future income tax benefits and payables as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 are as follows:

(dollars in millions)
20202019
Future income tax benefits:
Insurance and employee benefits$201 $159 
Other asset basis differences149 121 
Other liability basis differences299 335 
Tax loss carryforwards197 45 
Tax credit carryforwards38 14 
Valuation allowances(242)(55)
$642 $619 
Future income taxes payable:
Intangible assets$182 $174 
Other assets basis differences335 298 
$517 $472 

Valuation allowances have been established primarily for tax credit carryforwards, tax loss carryforwards, and certain foreign temporary differences to reduce the future income tax benefits to expected realizable amounts. The table above includes impacts recorded as part of the Separation.
Tax Credit and Loss Carryforwards. As of December 31, 2020, tax credit carryforwards, principally state and foreign, and tax loss carryforwards, principally state and foreign, were as follows:

(dollars in millions)
Tax Credit CarryforwardsTax Loss Carryforwards
Expiration period:
2021-2025$ $39 
2026-20307 33 
2031-20401 22 
Indefinite30 720 
$38 $814 

Unrecognized Tax Benefits. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had gross tax-effected unrecognized tax benefits of $397 million, all of which, if recognized, would impact the effective tax rate. A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amounts of unrecognized tax benefits and interest expense related to unrecognized tax benefits for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 is as follows:

(dollars in millions)
202020192018
Balance at January 1$379 $380 $392 
Additions for tax positions related to the current year16 18 
Additions for tax positions of prior years41 15 
Reductions for tax positions of prior years(31)(15)(16)
Settlements(8)(19)— 
Balance at December 31$397 $379 $380 
Gross interest expense related to unrecognized tax benefits$10 $$10 
Total accrued interest balance at December 31$153 $141 $136 

Otis conducts business globally and, as a result, Otis or one or more of its subsidiaries files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and various state and foreign jurisdictions.

In the ordinary course of business, Otis could be subject to examination by taxing authorities throughout the world, including such major jurisdictions as Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the U.S. With few exceptions, Otis is no longer subject to U.S. federal, state and local, or non-U.S. income tax examinations for years before 2010.

A subsidiary of Otis engaged in litigation in Belgium received a favorable appellate court decision in 2018. The Belgian Tax Authorities appealed the decision to the Court of Cassation (the equivalent of Supreme Court in Belgium). On December 4, 2020, the Court of Cassation overturned the decision of the appellate court and remanded the case to the appellate court for reconsideration. It is not known how much time will elapse prior to the issuance of the appellate court’s decision. The associated tax and interest have been fully reserved.

In the ordinary course of business, there is inherent uncertainty in quantifying our income tax positions. We assess our income tax positions and record tax benefits for all years subject to examination based upon management’s evaluation of the facts, circumstances, and information available at the reporting date. It is reasonably possible that a range of a $10 million increase to a $380 million reduction of unrecognized tax benefits and a range of a $10 million increase to a $150 million reduction in associated interest may occur within the next 12 months as a result of additional worldwide uncertain tax positions, the closure of tax statutes, or the revaluation of current uncertain tax positions arising from the issuance of legislation, regulatory or other guidance or developments in examinations, in appeals or in the courts.

See Note 21, "Contingent Liabilities" for discussion regarding uncertain tax positions, included in the above range, related to pending litigation with respect to certain deductions claimed in Germany.