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Income Taxes Income Taxes (Notes)
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Tax Disclosure [Text Block] INCOME TAXES:
As a partnership, we are not subject to United States federal income tax and most state income taxes. However, the Partnership conducts certain activities through corporate subsidiaries which are subject to federal and state income taxes. The components of the federal and state income tax expense (benefit) of our taxable subsidiaries are summarized as follows:
 Years Ended December 31,
 202120202019
Current expense (benefit):
Federal$19 $(6)$(20)
State24 32 (2)
Foreign— 1 — 
Total43 27 (22)
Deferred expense (benefit):
Federal246 176 174 
State(106)41 43 
Foreign1 (7)— 
Total141 210 217 
Total income tax expense$184 $237 $195 
Historically, our effective tax rate has differed from the statutory rate primarily due to partnership earnings that are not subject to United States federal and most state income taxes at the partnership level. A reconciliation of income tax expense at the United States statutory rate to the Partnership’s income tax benefit for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 is as follows:
Years Ended December 31,
202120202019
Income tax expense at United States statutory rate
$1,443 $79 $1,054 
Increase (reduction) in income taxes resulting from:
Partnership earnings not subject to tax(1,211)88 (866)
Noncontrolling interests— 16 — 
State tax, net of federal tax benefit85 58 12 
Statutory rate change(46)— — 
Valuation allowance(63)— — 
Uncertain tax positions(34)— — 
Dividend received deduction(4)— (3)
Foreign taxes1 (7)— 
Other13 3 (2)
Income tax expense$184 $237 $195 
Deferred taxes result from the temporary differences between financial reporting carrying amounts and the tax basis of existing assets and liabilities. The table below summarizes the principal components of the deferred tax assets (liabilities) as follows:
 December 31,
 20212020
Deferred income tax assets:
Net operating losses and other carryforwards$803 $1,047 
Pension and other postretirement benefits— — 
Other35 34 
Total deferred income tax assets838 1,081 
Valuation allowance(34)(134)
Net deferred income tax assets804 947 
Deferred income tax liabilities:
Property, plant and equipment(314)(298)
Investments in affiliates(4,042)(3,994)
Trademarks(79)(77)
Other(17)(6)
Total deferred income tax liabilities(4,452)(4,375)
Net deferred income taxes$(3,648)$(3,428)
As of December 31, 2021, ETP Holdco had a federal net operating loss carryforward of $3.1 billion, of which $1.1 billion will expire in 2031 through 2037 while the remaining can be carried forward indefinitely. A total of $338 million of the federal net operating loss carryforward is limited under IRC §382. Although we expect to fully utilize the IRC §382 limited federal net operating loss, the amount utilized in a particular year may be limited. As of December 31, 2021, Sunoco Retail LLC (formerly Sunoco Property Company LLC), a corporate subsidiary of Sunoco LP, had a state net operating loss carryforward of $114 million, which we expect to fully utilize. Sunoco Retail LLC has no federal net operating loss carryforward.
Our corporate subsidiaries have state net operating loss carryforward benefits of $116 million, net of federal tax, some of which expire between 2022 and 2040, while others are carried forward indefinitely. Our corporate subsidiaries have Canadian net operating losses of $6 million that will begin to expire in 2033. Our corporate subsidiaries have cumulative excess business interest expense of $79 million available for carryforward indefinitely. A valuation allowance of $9 million is attributable to state net operating loss carryforward benefits primarily attributable to significant restrictions on their use in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A separate valuation allowance of $25 million is attributable to foreign tax credits.
The following table sets forth the changes in unrecognized tax benefits:
 Years Ended December 31,
 202120202019
Balance at beginning of year$90 $94 $624 
Additions attributable to tax positions taken in prior years— — 11 
Reduction attributable to tax positions taken in prior years(34)— (541)
Lapse of statute— (4)— 
Balance at end of year$56 $90 $94 
As of December 31, 2021, we had $56 million ($51 million after federal income tax benefits) related to tax positions which, if recognized, would impact our effective tax rate.
Our policy is to accrue interest expense and penalties on income tax underpayments (overpayments) as a component of income tax expense. During 2021, we recognized interest and penalties of less than $7 million. At December 31, 2021, we have interest and penalties accrued of $17 million, net of tax.
We appealed the adverse Court of Federal Claims decision against ETC Sunoco regarding the IRS’ denial of ethanol blending credits claims under Section 6426 to the Federal Circuit. The Federal Circuit affirmed the CFC’s denial on November 1, 2018. ETC Sunoco filed a petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019 to review the Federal Circuit’s affirmation of the CFC’s ruling, and the Court denied Sunoco’s petition on October 7, 2019. Due to the uncertainty surrounding the litigation, a reserve of $530 million was previously established for the full amount of the pending refund claims, and the receivable and reserve for this issue were netted in the consolidated balance sheet. Subsequent to the Supreme Court’s denial of the petition in October 2019, the receivable and reserve have been reversed, with no impact to the Partnership’s financial position and results of operations.
In November 2015, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court determined in Nextel Communications v. Commonwealth (“Nextel”) that the Pennsylvania limitation on NOL carryforward deductions violated the uniformity clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution and struck the NOL limitation in its entirety. In October 2017, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed the decision with respect to the uniformity clause violation; however, the Court reversed with respect to the remedy and instead severed the flat-dollar limitation, leaving the percentage-based limitation intact. Nextel subsequently filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court, and this was denied on June 11, 2018. Certain Pennsylvania taxpayers have subsequently undertaken litigation in Pennsylvania state courts on issues not addressed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Nextel, specifically, whether the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the United States Constitution and the Remedies Clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution require a court to grant the taxpayer relief. On December 22, 2021, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court found in General Motors Corporation v. Commonwealth (“GM”) that the taxpayer was entitled to meaningful backwards looking relief under the Due Process Clause, meaning the Commonwealth must equalize the taxpayer’s position with taxpayers who were not affected by the NOL cap in place for the year at issue. The Court therefore held the taxpayer was entitled to a refund by calculating its tax for that year with an uncapped NOL deduction. We believe the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s ruling in GM will more likely than not be upheld if challenged by the Commonwealth. ETC Sunoco previously recognized approximately $67 million ($53 million after federal income tax benefits) in tax benefit based on previously filed tax returns and certain previously filed protective claims as relates to its cases currently held pending the Nextel matter. In addition, based upon the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s October 2017 decision, and because of uncertainty in the breadth of the application of the decision, ETC Sunoco previously reserved $34 million ($27 million after federal income tax benefits) against the receivable. Subsequent to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision in GM, the reserve has been reversed and the entire tax benefit of $34 million ($27 million after federal income tax benefit) has been recognized by the Partnership.
In general, Energy Transfer and its subsidiaries are no longer subject to examination by the IRS, and most state jurisdictions, for the 2016 and prior tax years.
USAC is currently under examination by the IRS for years 2019 and 2020. Energy Transfer and its other subsidiaries also have various state and local income tax returns in the process of examination or administrative appeal in various jurisdictions. We believe the appropriate accruals or unrecognized tax benefits have been recorded for any potential assessment with respect to these examinations.