Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Financing receivable, allowance for credit loss

The following tables present the activity of our allowance for credit losses by accounts receivable portfolio for the years ended December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020:


	Business		Mass Markets	Total
	(Dollars in millions)
Beginning balance at January 1, 2021(1)	$	109	82	191
Provision for expected losses	50		55	105
Write-offs charged against the allowance	(76)		(101)	(177)
Recoveries collected	13		6	19
Reclassified as held for sale(2)	(8)		(16)	(24)
Ending balance at December 31, 2021	$	88	26	114


	Business		Consumer	Total
	(Dollars in millions)
Beginning balance at January 1, 2020(3)	$	58	37	95
Provision for expected losses	115		74	189
Write-offs charged against the allowance	(74)		(59)	(133)
Recoveries collected	24		18	42
Foreign currency exchange rate changes adjustment	(2)		—	(2)
Balance at December 31, 2020	$	121	70	191

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(1)As described in Note 17—Segment Information, we completed an internal reorganization in January 2021. As a result of this change, allowance for credit losses previously included in the Consumer and Business portfolio of $70 million related to consumer and $12 million related to our small business group, respectively, were reclassified to the Mass Markets allowance for credit losses on January 1, 2021.

(2)Represents the amounts reclassified as held for sale related to our pending divestitures. See Note 2—Planned Divestiture of the Latin American and ILEC Businesses.

(3)The beginning balance for the year ended December 31, 2020 includes the cumulative effect of $11 million for the adoption of the new credit loss standard.