INCOME TAXES (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of provision (benefit) for income taxes

The (benefit) provision for income taxes consisted of the following for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017 (in millions):

	2019			2018			2017
Current (benefits) provision for income taxes:
Federal	$	(89	)	$	59		$	77
State	(2		)	8			7
	(91		)	67			84
Deferred (benefit) provision for income taxes:
Federal	(4		)	(69		)	(196		)
State	(1		)	(34		)	37
	(5		)	(103		)	(159		)
(Benefit) provision for income taxes	$	(96	)	$	(36	)	$	(75	)

Schedule of reconciliation of federal income taxes at the applicable statutory rate to the recorded provision from continuing operations

The following is a reconciliation of federal income taxes at the applicable statutory rate to the recorded provision:

	2019		2018		2017
Federal statutory rate	21.0	%	21.0	%	35.0	%
Adjustments:
Federal tax credits (a)	(684.6	)%	(19.9	)%	(2.2	)%
Spectrum sales (b)	(386.7	)%	(5.8	)%	—	%
Valuation allowance (c)	(237.1	)%	0.7	%	—	%
Nondeductible items (d)	192.7	%	0.4	%	1.7	%
Noncontrolling interest (e)	(138.9	)%	(0.3	)%	(0.8	)%
Change in unrecognized tax benefits (f)	72.2	%	—	%	0.5	%
State income taxes, net of federal tax benefit (g)	56.6	%	(8.8	)%	5.2	%
Effect of consolidated VIEs (h)	46.3	%	1.6	%	1.0	%
Capital loss carryback (i)	(26.0	)%	—	%	—	%
Stock-based compensation	(15.9	)%	0.5	%	(0.2	)%
Federal tax reform (j)	—	%	(1.4	)%	(54.3	)%
Other	(3.0	)%	0.3	%	(1.0	)%
Effective income tax rate	(1,103.4	)%	(11.7	)%	(15.1	)%

(a) Our 2019, 2018, and 2017 income tax provisions include a benefit of $57 million, $58 million, and $8 million, respectively, related to investments in sustainability initiatives whose activities qualify for federal income tax credits through 2021.

(b) Our 2019 and 2018 income tax provisions include a benefit of $34 million and $18 million, respectively, related to the treatment of the gain from the sale of certain broadcast spectrum in connection with the Broadcast Incentive Auction.

(c) Our 2019 income tax provision includes a $16 million benefit related to a release of valuation allowance on certain state net operating losses where utilization is now expected as a result of the RSN Acquisition.

(d) Our 2019 income tax provision includes a $19 million addition primarily related to regulatory costs, executive compensation and other nondeductible expenses.

(e) Our 2019 income tax provision includes a $12 million benefit related to noncontrolling interest of various partnerships.

(f) Our 2019 income tax provision includes a $4 million addition related to tax positions of prior tax years.

(g) Included in state income taxes are deferred income tax effects related to certain acquisitions, intercompany mergers and/or impact of changes in apportionment.

(h) Certain of our consolidated VIEs incur expenses that are not attributable to non-controlling interests because we absorb certain related losses of the VIEs.  These expenses are nondeductible by us, and since these VIEs are treated as pass-through entities for income tax purposes, deferred income tax benefits are not recognized.

(i) Our 2019 income tax provision includes a $2 million benefit related to capital losses that will be carried back to tax years with 35% federal income tax rate.

(j)

Our 2018 and 2017 income tax provisions include a non-recurring benefit of $4 million and $272 million, respectively, to reflect the effect of the Tax Reform enacted on December 22, 2017.

Schedule of total deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities

Total deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 were as follows (in millions):

	2019			2018
Deferred Tax Assets:
Net operating losses:
Federal	$	22		$	29
State	92			74
Goodwill and intangible assets	10			13
Accruals	39			6
Other	28			41
	191			163
Valuation allowance for deferred tax assets	(65		)	(66		)
Total deferred tax assets	$	126		$	97
Deferred Tax Liabilities:
Goodwill and intangible assets	$	(415	)	$	(427	)
Property & equipment, net	(90		)	(80		)
Other	(28		)	(3		)
Total deferred tax liabilities	(533		)	(510		)
Net deferred tax liabilities	$	(407	)	$	(413	)

Schedule of activity related to accrued unrecognized tax benefits

The following table summarizes the activity related to our accrued unrecognized tax benefits (in millions):

	2019		2018			2017
Balance at January 1,	$	7	$	7		$	5
Additions related to prior year tax positions	4		—			2
Additions related to current year tax positions	—		2			1
Reductions related to prior year tax positions	—		(1		)	—
Reductions related to settlements with taxing authorities	—		—			(1		)
Reductions related to expiration of the applicable statute of limitations	—		(1		)	—
Balance at December 31,	$	11	$	7		$	7