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Income Taxes
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2019
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes
NOTE 3 — INCOME TAXES
 
Our provision for income taxes for the quarters ended March 31, 2019 and 2018 was $279 million and $257 million, respectively, and the effective tax rates were 21.2% and 18.4%, respectively. Our provision for income taxes included tax benefits related to the settlement of employee equity awards of $49 million and $92 million for the quarters ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.
Our liability for unrecognized tax benefits was $457 million, including accrued interest of $53 million, as of March 31, 2019 ($435 million and $48 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2018). Unrecognized tax benefits of $143 million ($137 million as of December 31, 2018) would affect the effective rate, if recognized.
The Internal Revenue Service began an examination of the Company’s 2016 and 2017 federal income tax returns during 2019. We are also subject to examination by state and foreign taxing authorities. Depending on the resolution of any federal, state and foreign tax disputes, the completion of examinations by federal, state or foreign taxing authorities, or the expiration of statutes of limitation for specific taxing jurisdictions, we believe it is reasonably possible that our liability for unrecognized tax benefits may significantly increase or decrease within the next 12 months. However, we are currently unable to estimate the range of any possible change.