INCOME TAXES

Tax Act

On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed the Tax Act into law. Among other provisions, the Tax Act lowered the corporate federal income tax rate from 35 to 21 percent, limits interest deductions outside of regulated utility operations, requires the normalization of excess deferred taxes associated with property under ARAM as a prerequisite to qualifying for accelerated depreciation and repealed the federal manufacturing deduction. The Tax Act also repealed the corporate alternative minimum tax (AMT) and stipulates a refund of 50 percent of remaining AMT credit carryforwards (to the extent the credits exceed regular tax for the year) for tax years 2018, 2019 and 2020 with all remaining AMT credits to be refunded in tax year 2021. During the three months ended September 30, 2018, the company reclassified $573 million which is 50 percent of the remaining estimated AMT credit carryforwards from noncurrent deferred tax liability to a current federal income tax receivable as a result of the Tax Act. The company reclassified the estimated AMT credit carryforwards during the three months ended September 30, 2018, since the company expects to receive it as a refund from the IRS in the three months ended September 30, 2019, based on the expected filing of Duke Energy's 2018 income tax return in the second quarter of 2019.

At this time AMT credits, which are among the certain tax credits treated as refundable under the Tax Act, are subject to sequestration. In the first quarter of 2018, the company revised the December 31, 2017, estimate of the income tax effects of the Tax Act and recorded a $76 million valuation allowance against these AMT credits based on additional interpretative guidance from the Internal Revenue Service related to the Tax Act. See Note 22 to the Consolidated Financial Statements in the Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2017, for information on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staff's guidance on accounting for the Tax Act (Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 (SAB 118), Income Tax Accounting Implications of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act).

During the three months ended September 30, 2018, the company revised the December 31, 2017 estimate of the income tax effects of the Tax Act, in accordance with SAB 118, by recording a $3 million benefit for the remeasurement of its deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities primarily related to the guidance on bonus depreciation issued by the Internal Revenue Service in August of 2018 affecting the computation of the company's 2017 Federal income tax liability. The majority of Duke Energy’s operations are regulated and it is expected that the Subsidiary Registrants will ultimately pass on the savings associated with the amount representing the remeasurement of deferred tax balances related to regulated operations to customers. For Duke Energy's regulated operations, where the reduction is expected to be returned to customers in future rates, the remeasurement has been deferred as a regulatory liability. For the three months ended September 30, 2018, Duke Energy recorded a regulatory liability of $57 million, representing the revaluation of those deferred tax balances. The Subsidiary Registrants continue to respond to requests from regulators in various jurisdictions to determine the timing and magnitude of savings they will pass on to customers.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2018, the company has revised the December 31, 2017, estimates of the income tax effects of the Tax Act, in accordance with SAB 118, by recording an expense of $73 million. Additional tax returns will be filed in the quarter ending December 31, 2018, and Duke Energy expects to make refinements of estimates recorded in the three months ending September 30, 2018. These refinements are not expected to be material to the financial statements. Duke Energy anticipates finalizing and recording any resulting adjustments within the measurement period allowed, which will be no later than the quarter ending December 31, 2018.

EFFECTIVE TAX RATES

The effective tax rates from continuing operations for each of the Duke Energy Registrants are included in the following table.



	Three Months Ended				Nine Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2018		2017		2018		2017
Duke Energy	13.7	%	27.6	%	17.0	%	30.4	%
Duke Energy Carolinas	22.6	%	32.9	%	22.3	%	34.1	%
Progress Energy	18.8	%	29.1	%	17.0	%	31.9	%
Duke Energy Progress	20.6	%	31.7	%	18.4	%	32.4	%
Duke Energy Florida	15.0	%	34.8	%	16.3	%	36.1	%
Duke Energy Ohio	16.0	%	33.3	%	16.0	%	34.4	%
Duke Energy Indiana	22.7	%	38.3	%	24.7	%	39.0	%
Piedmont	34.4	%	47.6	%	20.6	%	36.1	%

The decrease in the effective tax rate (ETR) for Duke Energy and the Subsidiary Registrants for the three months ended September 30, 2018, is primarily due to the lower statutory federal corporate tax rate under the Tax Act. The decrease in the ETR for Duke Energy and the Subsidiary Registrants for the nine months ended September 30, 2018, is primarily due to the lower statutory federal corporate tax rate under the Tax Act and the amortization of federal and state excess deferred taxes, partially offset by a valuation allowance against AMT credits discussed above.

The decrease in the ETR for Duke Energy Carolinas for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, is primarily due to the lower statutory federal corporate tax rate under the Tax Act and amortization of state excess deferred taxes partially offset by favorable tax return true ups in the prior year.

The decrease in the ETR for Progress Energy for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, is primarily due to the lower statutory federal corporate tax rate under the Tax Act and the amortization of federal and state excess deferred taxes.

The decrease in the ETR for Duke Energy Progress for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, is primarily due to the lower statutory federal corporate tax rate under the Tax Act and amortization of state excess deferred taxes.

The decrease in the ETR for Duke Energy Florida for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, is primarily due to the lower statutory federal corporate tax rate under the Tax Act and the amortization of federal excess deferred taxes.

The decrease in the ETR for Duke Energy Ohio for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, is primarily due to the lower statutory federal corporate tax rate under the Tax Act and the amortization of federal excess deferred taxes.

The decrease in the ETR for Duke Energy Indiana for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, is primarily due to the lower statutory federal corporate tax rate under the Tax Act.

The decrease in the ETR for Piedmont for the three months ended September 30, 2018, is primarily due to the lower statutory federal corporate tax rate under the Tax Act partially offset by favorable research credits in relation to pretax losses. The decrease in the ETR for Piedmont for the nine months ended September 30, 2018, is primarily due to the lower statutory federal corporate tax rate under the Tax Act.