Taxes

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Taxes

Note 12. Taxes

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

	(dollars in millions)
Years Ended December 31,	2024		2023		2022
Domestic	$	21,253	$	15,668	$	26,822
Foreign	1,726		1,319		1,449
Total	$	22,979	$	16,987	$	28,271

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

	(dollars in millions)
Years Ended December 31,	2024		2023		2022
Current
Federal	$	3,367	$	2,070	$	2,411
Foreign	240		219		201
State and local	608		215		938
Total	4,215		2,504		3,550
Deferred
Federal	807		1,799		2,529
Foreign	(4)		28		(22)
State and local	12		561		466
Total	815		2,388		2,973
Total income tax provision	$	5,030	$	4,892	$	6,523

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

									(dollars in millions)
	2024				2023				2022
Years Ended December 31,	Amount		Percent		Amount		Percent		Amount		Percent
U.S. federal statutory tax rate	$	4,825	21.0	%	$	3,567	21.0	%	$	5,937	21.0	%
State and local income taxes, net of federal income tax effect(1)	566		2.5		664		3.9		1,104		3.9
Foreign tax effects	(68)		(0.3)		(16)		(0.1)		(120)		(0.4)
Effect of cross-border tax laws	—		—		18		0.1		15		0.1
Tax credits	(27)		(0.1)		(27)		(0.2)		(30)		(0.1)
Changes in valuation allowances	15		0.1		—		—		11		—
Nontaxable or nondeductible items
Goodwill impairment	—		—		1,149		6.8		—		—
Other	(116)		(0.5)		(133)		(0.8)		(145)		(0.5)
Changes in unrecognized tax benefits	40		0.2		(27)		(0.2)		(118)		(0.4)
Other adjustments
Federal refund claims	(17)		(0.1)		(245)		(1.4)		—		—
Other	(188)		(0.9)		(58)		(0.3)		(131)		(0.5)
Effective income tax rate	$	5,030	21.9	%	$	4,892	28.8	%	$	6,523	23.1	%

(1) The states that contribute to the majority (greater than 50%) of the tax effect in this category include California, Maryland and Pennsylvania for 2024, California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland and Virginia for 2023, and California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon and Pennsylvania for 2022.

The effective income tax rate for 2024 was 21.9% compared to 28.8% for 2023. The decrease in the effective income tax rate was primarily due to the Verizon Business Group goodwill impairment charge of $5.8 billion in 2023 that substantially decreased income before income taxes and was not deductible. The increase in the provision for income taxes was primarily due to the increase in income before income taxes in the current period.

The effective income tax rate for 2023 was 28.8% compared to 23.1% for 2022. The increase in the effective income tax rate was primarily due to the Verizon Business Group goodwill impairment charge of $5.8 billion that substantially decreased income before income taxes and was not deductible. The decrease in the provision for income taxes was primarily due to the decrease in income before income taxes in the current period.

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

	(dollars in millions)
Years Ended December 31,	2024		2023		2022
Federal	$	4,745	$	1,447	$	1,865
State	665		672		670
Foreign
Ireland	156		143		147
All other foreign	66		81		54
Income taxes, net of amounts refunded	5,632		2,343		2,736
Employment taxes	992		1,016		1,245
Property and other taxes	1,836		2,007		1,959
Total	$	8,460	$	5,366	$	5,940

In 2024, there were no individual jurisdictions with cash taxes paid that equaled or exceeded 5% of total income taxes paid. In 2022 and 2023, the only jurisdiction with cash taxes paid that equaled or exceeded 5% of total income taxes paid was Ireland.

Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

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,	2024		2023
Deferred tax assets
Employee benefits	$	3,676	$	3,913
Tax loss, credit, and other carry forwards	1,719		1,922
Lease liabilities	5,138		5,480
Other - assets	1,735		1,708
	12,268		13,023
Valuation allowances	(1,399)		(1,341)
Deferred tax assets	10,869		11,682
Deferred tax liabilities
Spectrum and other intangible amortization	29,302		28,535
Depreciation	20,424		20,884
Lease right-of-use assets	4,822		5,200
Other - liabilities	2,904		2,696
Deferred tax liabilities	57,452		57,315
Net deferred tax liability	$	46,583	$	45,633

Undistributed earnings of certain foreign subsidiaries continue to be indefinitely invested outside the U.S. The majority of Verizon's cash flow is generated from domestic operations and we are not dependent on foreign cash or earnings to meet our funding requirements, nor do we intend to repatriate these undistributed foreign earnings to fund U.S. operations. Furthermore, a portion of these undistributed earnings represents amounts that legally must be kept in reserve in accordance with certain foreign jurisdictional requirements and are unavailable for distribution or repatriation. As a result, we have not provided U.S. deferred taxes on these undistributed earnings because we intend that they will remain indefinitely reinvested outside of the U.S. and, therefore unavailable for use in funding U.S. operations. Determination of the amount of unrecognized deferred taxes related to these undistributed earnings is not practicable.

At December 31, 2024, we had net after-tax loss, credit, and other carry forwards for income tax purposes of approximately $1.7 billion that relate to federal, state and foreign taxes. Of these net after-tax loss, credit, and other carry forwards, approximately $1.1 billion will expire between 2025 and 2044 and approximately $591 million may be carried forward indefinitely.

During 2024, the valuation allowance increased by $59 million. The $1.4 billion valuation allowance at December 31, 2024 is primarily related to state and foreign taxes.

Unrecognized Tax Benefits

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

			(dollars in millions)
	2024		2023		2022
Balance at January 1,	$	2,705	$	2,812	$	3,134
Additions based on tax positions related to the current year	91		114		123
Additions for tax positions of prior years	203		185		122
Reductions for tax positions of prior years	(229)		(154)		(419)
Settlements	(70)		(50)		(92)
Lapses of statutes of limitations	(65)		(202)		(56)
Balance at December 31,	$	2,635	$	2,705	$	2,812

Included in the total unrecognized tax benefits at December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022 is $2.3 billion, $2.3 billion and $2.5 billion, respectively, that if recognized, would favorably affect the effective income tax rate.

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

Years Ended December 31,	(dollars in millions)
2024	$	55
2023	86
2022	35

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)
2024	$	684
2023	630

The decrease in unrecognized tax benefits in 2024 was primarily due to the resolution of issues under income tax examinations. The decrease in unrecognized tax benefits for 2023 was primarily due to lapses of statutes of limitations.

Verizon and/or its subsidiaries file income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction, and various state, local and foreign jurisdictions. As a large taxpayer, we are under audit by the IRS and multiple state and foreign jurisdictions for various open tax years. The IRS is currently examining the Company’s U.S. income tax returns for tax years 2017 through 2019 and Cellco's U.S. income tax return for tax year 2020. Tax controversies are ongoing for tax years as early as 2009 in certain states and as early as 2000 outside the U.S.