The components of Income (Loss) before Income Taxes follow:



(In millions)	2023			2022		2021
U.S.	$	(325	)	$	41	$	(102	)
Foreign		(352	)		358		615
	$	(677	)	$	399	$	513

A reconciliation of income taxes at the U.S. statutory rate to United States and Foreign Tax Expense (Benefit) follows:



(In millions)	2023			2022			2021
U.S. federal income tax expense (benefit) at the statutory rate of 21%	$	(142	)	$	84		$	108
Net foreign losses (income) with no tax due to valuation allowances		122			45			3
Goodwill impairment		34			—			—
State income taxes, net of U.S. federal benefit		(12	)		6			1
Adjustment for foreign income taxed at different rates and nontaxable foreign items		5			33			24
U.S. charges (benefits) related to foreign tax credits, R&D and foreign derived intangible deduction		4			(7	)		(4	)
Net establishment (release) of uncertain tax positions		(3	)		(4	)		(6	)
Deferred tax impact of enacted rate and law changes		—			(6	)		(61	)
Net establishment (release) of foreign valuation allowances and write off of deferred taxes		—			24			(1	)
Net establishment (release) of U.S. valuation allowances		—			—			(340	)
Other		2			15			9
United States and Foreign Tax Expense (Benefit)	$	10		$	190		$	(267	)

The components of United States and Foreign Tax Expense (Benefit) by taxing jurisdiction, follow:



(In millions)	2023			2022			2021
Current:
Federal	$	37		$	—		$	1
Foreign		177			150			166
State		26			12			37
		240			162			204
Deferred:
Federal		(123	)		(28	)		(362	)
Foreign		(62	)		46			(23	)
State		(45	)		10			(86	)
		(230	)		28			(471	)
United States and Foreign Tax Expense (Benefit)	$	10		$	190		$	(267	)

Income tax expense in 2023 was $10 million on a loss before income taxes of $677 million. In 2023, income tax expense includes net discrete tax benefits totaling $9 million, primarily related to additional prior year withholding tax creditable in the U.S. as a result of a tax law change.

In 2022, income tax expense was $190 million on income before income taxes of $399 million and includes net discrete tax expense totaling $23 million, including a charge of $14 million to write off deferred tax assets related to tax loss carryforwards in the U.K. and a charge of $11 million to establish a full valuation allowance on our net deferred tax assets in Russia, partially offset by a net benefit of $2 million for various other items.

In 2021, income tax benefit of $267 million on income before income taxes of $513 million includes net discrete tax benefits totaling $409 million, including a reduction in our valuation allowances of $340 million for certain U.S. deferred tax assets for foreign tax credits and state tax loss carryforwards, a $39 million benefit to adjust our deferred tax assets in England for an enacted change in the tax rate, a $21 million benefit to reflect an increase in our estimated state tax rate used in calculating our U.S. net deferred tax assets as a result of a change in the overall mix of our earnings by state after including the impact of the acquisition of Cooper Tire, an $8 million benefit related to a favorable court ruling in Brazil, and a net benefit of $1 million for various other items.

We consider both positive and negative evidence when measuring the need for a valuation allowance. The weight given to the evidence is commensurate with the extent to which it may be objectively verified. Current and cumulative financial reporting results are a source of objectively verifiable evidence. We give operating results during the most recent three-year period a significant weight in our analysis. We typically only consider forecasts of future profitability when positive cumulative operating results exist in the most recent three-year period. We perform scheduling exercises to determine if sufficient taxable income of the appropriate character exists in the periods required in order to realize our deferred tax assets with limited lives (such as tax loss carryforwards and tax credits) prior to their expiration. We also consider prudent tax planning strategies (including an assessment of their feasibility) to accelerate taxable income if required to utilize expiring deferred tax assets. A valuation allowance is not required to the extent that, in our judgment, positive evidence exists with a magnitude and duration sufficient to result in a conclusion that it is more likely than not that our deferred tax assets will be realized.

At December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, we had approximately $1.2 billion and $1.1 billion of U.S. federal, state and local net deferred tax assets, respectively, inclusive of valuation allowances totaling $22 million and $26 million in each period, respectively, primarily for state tax loss carryforwards with limited lives. As of December 31, 2023, approximately $1.0 billion of these U.S. net deferred tax assets have unlimited lives and approximately $200 million have limited lives, including $22 million of foreign tax credits, and the majority do not start to expire until 2031. As of December 31, 2022, approximately $700 million of these U.S. net deferred tax assets had unlimited lives and approximately $400 million had limited lives, including $230 million of foreign tax credits, and had expiration dates between 2023 and 2042. In the U.S., as of December 31, 2023, we emerged from a three-year cumulative loss which was driven by business disruptions created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our U.S. cumulative income for the three-years ended December 31, 2023 is primarily a result of gains from other comprehensive income rather than consistently profitable U.S. operating results. Our 2023 U.S. operating results in the first six months of the year were negatively impacted by lower sales volumes due to commercial replacement tire channel destocking, reduced consumer industry demand and the Tupelo storm. However, our second half of 2023 showed improvement and profitability in our U.S. operating results.

In assessing our ability to utilize our net deferred tax assets, we primarily considered objectively verifiable information, including the improvement in our U.S. operating results during the second half of 2023 as a result of improved tire volume and lower raw material and transportation costs compared to the first half of 2023. In addition, we consider our current forecasts of future profitability in assessing our ability to realize our deferred tax assets as well as the impact of tax planning strategies. These forecasts include the impact of recent trends and various macroeconomic factors such as the impact of raw material, transportation, labor and energy costs on our profitability. Our tax planning strategies include accelerating income on cross border transactions, including sales of inventory or raw materials to our subsidiaries, reducing U.S. interest expense by, for example, reducing intercompany loans through repatriating current year earnings of foreign subsidiaries, repatriation of certain foreign royalty income, and other financing transactions, all of which would increase our domestic profitability.

We believe our improvement in U.S. operating results during the second half of 2023 and forecasts of future profitability provide us sufficient positive evidence to conclude that it is more likely than not that, at December 31, 2023, our U.S. net deferred tax assets will be fully utilized. However, macroeconomic factors such as raw material, transportation, labor and energy costs possess a high degree of volatility and can significantly impact our profitability. In addition, certain tax provisions, such as the annual interest expense limitation under Section 163(j) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, if amended, could impact our analysis of the realizability of our U.S. deferred tax assets. If our U.S. operating results significantly decline in the future, we may need to record a valuation allowance which could adversely impact our operating results. As such, we will closely monitor our U.S. operations as well as any tax law changes to assess the realizability of our U.S. deferred tax assets.

At December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, we also had approximately $1.5 billion and $1.2 billion of foreign net deferred tax assets, respectively, and related valuation allowances of approximately $1.2 billion and $1.0 billion, respectively. Our losses in various foreign taxing jurisdictions in recent periods represented sufficient negative evidence to require us to maintain a full valuation allowance against certain of these net foreign deferred tax assets. Most notably, in Luxembourg, we maintain a valuation allowance of approximately $1.0 billion on all of our net deferred tax assets. Each reporting period, we assess available positive and negative evidence and estimate if sufficient future taxable income will be generated to utilize these existing deferred tax assets. We do not believe that sufficient positive evidence required to release valuation allowances on our foreign deferred tax assets having a significant impact on our financial position or results of operations will exist within the next twelve months.

Temporary differences and carryforwards giving rise to deferred tax assets and liabilities at December 31 follow:



(In millions)	2023			2022
Tax loss carryforwards and credits	$	1,155		$	1,160
Capitalized research and development expenditures		490			481
Prepaid royalty income		427			457
Accrued expenses deductible as paid		343			320
Partnership basis differences		317			341
Other prepayments income		153			—
Postretirement benefits and pensions		87			63
Lease liabilities		82			70
Rationalizations and other provisions		58			52
Vacation and sick pay		25			26
Other		137			100
		3,274			3,070
Valuation allowance		(1,275	)		(1,072	)
Total deferred tax assets		1,999			1,998
Intangible property basis differences related to Cooper Tire acquisition		(205	)		(214	)
Property basis differences		(166	)		(407	)
Right-of-use assets		(81	)		(68	)
Total net deferred tax assets	$	1,547		$	1,309

At December 31, 2023, we had $948 million of tax assets for net operating loss, capital loss and tax credit carryforwards related to certain foreign subsidiaries. These carryforwards are primarily from countries with unlimited carryforward periods, but include $72 million of tax credit carryforwards in various European countries that are subject to expiration from 2024 to 2033. A valuation allowance totaling $1,253 million has been recorded against these and other deferred tax assets where recovery of the asset or carryforward is uncertain. In addition, we had $157 million of federal and $50 million of state tax assets for net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. The federal carryforwards include $23 million of foreign tax credits that are subject to expiration from 2028 to 2030 and $129 million of tax assets related to research and development credits and other federal credits that are subject to expiration from 2030 to 2043. The state carryforwards include $38 million that are subject to expiration from 2024 to 2040. A valuation allowance of $22 million has been recorded against federal and state deferred tax assets where recovery is uncertain.

At December 31, 2023, we had unrecognized tax benefits of $92 million that, if recognized, would have a favorable impact on our tax expense of $61 million. We had accrued interest of $1 million as of December 31, 2023. If not favorably settled, $9 million of the unrecognized tax benefits and all the accrued interest would require the use of our cash. We do not expect changes during 2024 to our unrecognized tax benefits to have a significant impact on our financial position or results of operations. A summary of our unrecognized tax benefits and changes during the year follows:



(In millions)	2023			2022			2021
Balance at January 1	$	87		$	90		$	85
Increases related to prior year tax positions		5			10			28
Decreases related to prior year tax positions		—			—			(12	)
Settlements		(1	)		(12	)		(5	)
Foreign currency impact		4			(1	)		(7	)
Increases related to current year tax positions		—			2			3
Lapse of statute of limitations		(3	)		(2	)		(2	)
Balance at December 31	$	92		$	87		$	90

We are open to examination in the U.S. for 2021 and in Germany from 2018 onward. Generally, for our remaining tax jurisdictions, years from 2018 onward are still open to examination.

We have undistributed earnings and profits of our foreign subsidiaries totaling approximately $2.8 billion at December 31, 2023. We have concluded that no provision for tax in the U.S. is required because substantially all of the remaining undistributed earnings and profits have been or will be reinvested in property, plant and equipment and working capital outside of the U.S. A foreign withholding tax charge would be required if these earnings and profits were distributed to the U.S. We estimate the foreign withholding tax charge to be approximately $100 million (net of foreign tax credits) using various assumptions. Future events, including changes in our business operations and tax law changes, could impact our current estimate.

Net cash payments for income taxes were $200 million, $174 million and $201 million in 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.