Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Components of Income before Provision for Income Taxes

The components of income before provision for income taxes are as follows:

	(dollars in millions)
Years Ended December 31,	2021		2020		2019
Domestic	$	27,607	$	22,844	$	21,655
Foreign	1,813		1,123		1,078
Total	$	29,420	$	23,967	$	22,733

Components of Provision for Income Taxes

The components of the provision for income taxes are as follows:

	(dollars in millions)
Years Ended December 31,	2021		2020		2019
Current
Federal	$	1,876	$	2,826	$	518
Foreign	248		159		221
State and Local	414		1,081		974
Total	2,538		4,066		1,713
Deferred
Federal	3,354		1,432		1,150
Foreign	(97)		1		(13)
State and Local	1,007		120		95
Total	4,264		1,553		1,232
Total income tax provision	$	6,802	$	5,619	$	2,945

Schedule for Principal Reasons for Difference in Effective and Statutory Tax Rates

The following table shows the principal reasons for the difference between the effective income tax rate and the statutory federal income tax rate:

Years Ended December 31,	2021		2020		2019
Statutory federal income tax rate	21.0	%	21.0	%	21.0	%
State and local income tax rate, net of federal tax benefits	3.8		3.9		3.7
Affiliate stock disposition	—		—		(9.9)
Noncontrolling interest	(0.4)		(0.5)		(0.5)
Divestitures	(0.6)		0.1		(0.1)
Tax credits	(0.5)		(0.8)		(1.3)
Other, net	(0.2)		(0.3)		0.1
Effective income tax rate	23.1	%	23.4	%	13.0	%

Schedule of Cash Taxes Paid

The amounts of cash taxes paid by Verizon are as follows:

	(dollars in millions)
Years Ended December 31,	2021		2020		2019
Income taxes, net of amounts refunded	$	3,040	$	2,725	$	3,583
Employment taxes	1,225		618		1,044
Property and other taxes	1,756		2,093		1,551
Total	$	6,021	$	5,436	$	6,178

Schedule of Deferred Taxes

Deferred taxes arise because of differences in the book and tax bases of certain assets and liabilities. Significant components of deferred tax assets and liabilities are as follows:

	(dollars in millions)
At December 31,	2021		2020
Deferred Tax Assets
Employee benefits	$	4,388	$	5,218
Tax loss and credit carry forwards	2,224		2,848
Other - assets	7,314		6,096
	13,926		14,162
Valuation allowances	(1,574)		(2,183)
Deferred tax assets	12,352		11,979
Deferred Tax Liabilities
Spectrum and other intangible amortization	24,935		22,726
Depreciation	19,893		18,009
Other - liabilities	8,041		6,867
Deferred tax liabilities	52,869		47,602
Net deferred tax liability	$	40,517	$	35,623

Reconciliation of Beginning and Ending Balance of Unrecognized Tax Benefits

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending balance of unrecognized tax benefits is as follows:

			(dollars in millions)
	2021		2020		2019
Balance at January 1,	$	2,944	$	2,870	$	2,871
Additions based on tax positions related to the current year	150		160		149
Additions for tax positions of prior years	621		258		297
Reductions for tax positions of prior years	(330)		(166)		(300)
Settlements	(163)		(46)		(58)
Lapses of statutes of limitations	(88)		(132)		(89)
Balance at December 31,	$	3,134	$	2,944	$	2,870

Schedule of After Tax (Expenses) Benefits Related to Interest and Penalties in Provision for Income Taxes

We recognized the following net after-tax (benefit) expenses related to interest and penalties in the provision for income taxes:

Years Ended December 31,	(dollars in millions)
2021	$	(21)
2020	5
2019	35

Schedule of After Tax Accrual for Payment of Interest and Penalties in Consolidated Balance Sheet

The after-tax accruals for the payment of interest and penalties in the consolidated balance sheets are as follows:

At December 31,	(dollars in millions)
2021	$	551
2020	388