Background	3 Months Ended
Background	Mar. 31, 2020
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Background	Background General We are an international facilities-based communications company engaged primarily in providing a broad array of integrated services to our residential and business customers. Our specific products and services are detailed in Note 11—Segment Information Basis of Presentation Our consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2019, which was derived from our audited consolidated financial statements, and our unaudited interim consolidated financial statements provided herein have been prepared in accordance with the instructions for Form 10-Q. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") have been condensed or omitted pursuant to rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). However, in our opinion, the disclosures made therein are adequate to make the information presented not misleading. We believe that these consolidated financial statements include all normal recurring adjustments necessary to fairly present the results for the interim periods. The consolidated results of operations and cash flows for the first three months of the year are not necessarily indicative of the consolidated results of operations and cash flows that might be expected for the entire year. These consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019. The accompanying consolidated financial statements include our accounts and the accounts of our subsidiaries in which we have a controlling interest. Intercompany amounts and transactions with our consolidated subsidiaries have been eliminated. To simplify the overall presentation of our consolidated financial statements, we report immaterial amounts attributable to noncontrolling interests in certain of our subsidiaries as follows: (i) income attributable to noncontrolling interests in other loss, net, (ii) equity attributable to noncontrolling interests in additional paid-in capital and (iii) cash flows attributable to noncontrolling interests in other, net, financing activities. We reclassified certain prior period amounts to conform to the current period presentation, including the categorization of our revenue and expenses in our segment reporting. See Note 11—Segment Information for additional information. These changes had no impact on total operating revenue, total operating expenses or net income (loss) for any period. There were no book overdrafts included in accounts payable at March 31, 2020. Included in accounts payable at December 31, 2019 was $106 million representing book overdrafts. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies The significant accounting policy below is in addition to the significant accounting policies described in Note 1 — Background and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes in Part II Item 8 of our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019. Change in Accounting Policy During the first quarter of 2020, we elected to change the presentation for taxes assessed by a governmental authority that are both imposed on and concurrent with a specific revenue-producing transaction, including federal and certain state Universal Service Fund (USF) regulatory fees, to present all such taxes on a net basis in our consolidated statement of operations. Prior to the first quarter of 2020, we assessed whether we were the primary obligor or principal taxpayer for the taxes assessed in each jurisdiction where we do business. The previous policy resulted in presenting such USF fees on a gross basis within operating revenue and cost of services and products, and all other significant taxes on a net basis. This change in accounting policy was applied retrospectively and decreased both operating revenue and cost of services and products by $215 million and $220 million for the quarters ended March 31, 2020 and March 31, 2019, respectively. The change had no impact on operating income (loss), net income (loss), or earnings (loss) per share in the consolidated statements of operations. We changed our policy to present such taxes on the net basis and believe the new policy is preferable because of the historical and potential future regulatory rate changes outside of our control resulting in significant variability in tax and fee revenue that are not indicative of our operating performance. We believe the net presentation provides the most useful and transparent financial information and improves comparability and consistency of financial results. Operating Lease Income CenturyLink leases various IRUs, office facilities, switching facilities and other network sites to third parties under operating leases. Lease and sublease income are included in operating revenue in the consolidated statements of operations. For the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 our gross rental income was $333 million and $199 million, respectively, which represents approximately 6% and 4%, respectively, of our operating revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements Financial Instruments In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, "Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments". The primary impact of ASU 2016-13 for us is a change in the model for the recognition of credit losses related to our financial instruments from an incurred loss model, which recognized credit losses only if it was probable that a loss had been incurred, to an expected loss model, which requires our management team to estimate the total credit losses expected on the portfolio of financial instruments. We adopted ASU 2016-13 on January 1, 2020 and recognized a cumulative adjustment to our accumulated deficit as of the date of adoption of $9 million net of tax effect. Please refer to Note 4—Credit Losses on Financial Instruments for more information. Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes (Topic 740). ASU 2019-12 removes certain exceptions for investments, intra-period allocations and interim calculations, and adds guidance to reduce complexity in accounting for income taxes. ASU 2019-12 will become effective for us in the first quarter of fiscal 2021 and early adoption is permitted. We are evaluating the impact the adoption will have on our consolidated financial statements. In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting. The ASU is intended to help stakeholders during the global market-wide reference rate transition period. Therefore, it will be in effect for a limited time through December 31, 2022. We are evaluating the optional expedients and exceptions for applying generally accepted accounting principles to contract modifications and hedging relationships, subject to meeting certain criteria, that reference LIBOR or another reference rate expected to be discontinued and the related impact on our consolidated financial statements.