Income Taxes (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation [Table Text Block]

The following table reconciles the difference between the statutory rate and the ETR:

	Three Months Ended Sept. 30				Nine Months Ended Sept. 30
	2020		2019		2020		2019
Federal statutory rate	21.0	%	21.0	%	21.0	%	21.0	%
State tax (net of federal tax effect)	5.0		5.0		5.1		5.0
Decreases:
Wind PTCs	(8.0)		(6.1)		(13.2)		(8.1)
Plant regulatory differences (a)	(7.2)		(5.6)		(7.4)		(5.5)
NOL carryback	(1.9)		—		(1.0)		—
Other tax credits and NOL allowances (net)	(1.0)		(1.7)		(1.2)		(1.8)
Other (net)	(1.2)		(0.6)		(1.3)		(0.5)
Effective income tax rate	6.7	%	12.0	%	2.0	%	10.1	%

(a)     Regulatory differences for income tax primarily relate to the credit of excess deferred taxes to customers through the average rate assumption method. Income tax benefits associated with the credit of excess deferred credits are offset by corresponding revenue reductions.

Summary of Statute of Limitations Applicable to Open Tax Years [Table Text Block]

Federal Audits — Statute of limitations applicable to Xcel Energy’s consolidated federal income tax returns expire as follows:

Tax Years	Expiration
2014 — 2016	July 2021

Earliest Open Tax Years Subject to Examination by State Taxing Authorities in the Major Operating Jurisdictions

As of Sept. 30, 2020, Xcel Energy’s earliest open tax years (subject to examination by state taxing authorities in its major operating jurisdictions) were as follows:

State	Year
Colorado	2009
Minnesota	2009
Texas	2011
Wisconsin	2014

•In 2018, Wisconsin began an audit of tax years 2014 - 2016. As of Sept. 30, 2020, no material adjustments have been proposed.

•In July 2020, Minnesota began a review of the 2015-2018 Research and Experimentation Credits. As of Sept. 30, 2020, no material adjustments have been proposed.

•No other state income tax audits were in progress as of Sept. 30, 2020.

Reconciliation of Unrecognized Tax Benefits

Unrecognized tax benefits — permanent vs. temporary:

(Millions of Dollars)	Sept. 30, 2020		Dec. 31, 2019
Unrecognized tax benefit — Permanent tax positions	$	36	$	35
Unrecognized tax benefit — Temporary tax positions	5		9
Total unrecognized tax benefit	$	41	$	44

Tax Benefits Associated with NOL and Tax Credit Carryforwards

Unrecognized tax benefits were reduced by tax benefits associated with NOL and tax credit carryforwards:

(Millions of Dollars)	Sept. 30, 2020		Dec. 31, 2019
NOL and tax credit carryforwards	$	(28)	$	(40)