Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Income Taxes

Provision for Income Taxes

Our income tax expense consisted of the following for the year ended December 31 (in millions):

	2024		2023		2022
Current:
Federal	$	419	$	477	$	456
State		133		151		130
Foreign		37		34		43
		589		662		629
Deferred:
Federal		98		73		20
State		19		2		30
Foreign		7		8		(1)
		124		83		49
Income tax expense	$	713	$	745	$	678

U.S. Federal Statutory Income Tax Rate Reconciled to Effective Rate

The U.S. federal statutory income tax rate is reconciled to the effective income tax rate for the year ended December 31 as follows:

	2024		2023		2022
Income tax expense at U.S. federal statutory rate	21.00	%	21.00	%	21.00	%
State and local income taxes, net of federal income tax benefit	4.05		4.15		4.16
Adoption of new accounting standard	2.25		—		—
Federal tax credits	(6.63)		(3.23)		(2.81)
Taxing authority audit settlements and other tax adjustments	(0.95)		(0.02)		0.54
Tax impact of equity-based compensation transactions	(0.61)		(0.35)		(0.45)
Tax impact of impairments	0.42		1.87		0.02
Tax rate differential on foreign income	0.29		0.21		0.27
Other	0.80		1.03		0.51
Effective income tax rate	20.62	%	24.66	%	23.24	%

Summary of income source

For financial reporting purposes, income before income taxes by source for the year ended December 31 was as follows (in millions):

	2024		2023		2022
Domestic	$	3,325	$	2,878	$	2,779
Foreign		133		143		139
Income before income taxes	$	3,458	$	3,021	$	2,918

Components of Net Deferred Tax Assets (Liabilities)

The components of net deferred tax liabilities as of December 31 are as follows (in millions):

	2024		2023
Deferred tax assets:
Net operating loss, capital loss and tax credit carry-forwards	$	159	$	137
Landfill and environmental remediation liabilities		162		195
Operating lease liabilities		276		128
Miscellaneous and other reserves, net		258		143
Total deferred tax assets		855		603
Valuation allowance		(199)		(181)
Deferred tax liabilities:
Property and equipment		(1,308)		(1,091)
Goodwill and other intangibles		(1,895)		(1,046)
Operating lease right-of-use assets		(263)		(111)
Net deferred tax liabilities	$	(2,810)	$	(1,826)

Summary of unrecognized tax benefits

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of gross unrecognized tax benefits, including accrued interest, is as follows (in millions):

	2024		2023		2022
Balance as of January 1	$	66	$	64	$	64
Additions based on tax positions related to the current year		4		6		5
Accrued interest		2		2		1
Acquisitions		2		—		—
Settlements		(21)		—		—
Lapse of statute of limitations		(10)		(6)		(6)
Balance as of December 31	$	43	$	66	$	64