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Income Taxes
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2024
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes Income Taxes
Effective Income Tax Rate
The income tax provision consisted of the following:
 Three months ended March 31,
(In millions, except rates)20242023
Income/(Loss) before income taxes$695 $(1,671)
Income tax expense/(benefit)184 (336)
Effective income tax rate26.5 %20.1 %
For the three months ended March 31, 2024, the effective tax rate was higher than the statutory rate of 21%, primarily due to the state tax expense. For the three months ended March 31, 2023, the effective tax rate was lower than the statutory rate of 21% primarily due to current state tax expense and permanent differences which when applied to year-to-date financial statement losses have an inverted effect and reduced the overall effective tax rate.
As of March 31, 2024, NRG as an applicable corporation is subject to the CAMT, and has reflected the impact in its current and deferred taxes. There is no CAMT impact to NRG's effective income tax rate. The Company's CAMT liability is significantly impacted by unrealized gains and losses on derivative instruments. NRG will continue to evaluate the impact of the CAMT if further guidance is provided by the U.S. Treasury or the IRS.
Uncertain Tax Benefits
As of March 31, 2024, NRG had a non-current tax liability of $76 million for uncertain tax benefits from positions taken on various federal, state, and foreign income tax returns inclusive of accrued interest. For the three months ended March 31, 2024, NRG accrued an immaterial amount of interest relating to the uncertain tax benefits. As of March 31, 2024, NRG had cumulative interest and penalties related to these uncertain tax benefits of $4 million. The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to uncertain tax benefits in income tax expense.
NRG is subject to examination by taxing authorities for income tax returns filed in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and various state and foreign jurisdictions including operations located in Australia and Canada. The Company is no longer subject to U.S. federal income tax examinations for years prior to 2020. With few exceptions, state and Canadian income tax examinations are no longer open for years prior to 2015.