Income Taxes

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

Effective Income Tax Rate

The income tax provision consisted of the following:

	Three months ended June 30,						Six months ended June 30,
In millions, except rates	2019			2018			2019			2018
Income from continuing operations before income taxes	$	188		$	32		$	286		$	276
Income tax (benefit)/expense from continuing operations	(1		)	5			3			11
Effective income tax rate	(0.5		)%	15.6		%	1.0		%	4.0		%

For the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, NRG's overall effective tax rate was lower than the statutory rate of 21%, primarily due to the tax benefit for the change in valuation allowance, partially offset by current state tax expense.

Uncertain Tax Benefits

As of June 30, 2019, NRG has recorded a non-current tax liability of $28 million for uncertain tax benefits from positions taken on various state income tax returns, including accrued interest. For the six months ended June 30, 2019, NRG accrued an immaterial amount of interest relating to the uncertain tax benefits. As of June 30, 2019, NRG had cumulative interest and penalties related to these uncertain tax benefits of $4 million. The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to uncertain tax benefits in income tax expense.

NRG is subject to examination by taxing authorities for income tax returns filed in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and various state and foreign jurisdictions including operations located in Australia. The Company is no longer subject to U.S. federal income tax examinations for years prior to 2015. With few exceptions, state and local income tax examinations are no longer open for years before 2010.