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Income Taxes | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2020
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract] |
INCOME TAXES | INCOME TAXES FirstEnergy’s interim effective tax rates reflect the estimated annual effective tax rates for 2020 and 2019. These tax rates are affected by estimated annual permanent items, such as AFUDC equity and other flow-through items, as well as discrete items that may occur in any given period but are not consistent from period to period. FirstEnergy’s effective tax rate on continuing operations for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, was 20.1% and 21.6%, respectively. The change in the effective tax rate was primarily due to various state flow-through items such as the tax treatment of allowance for equity funds used during construction, as well as the amortization of net excess deferred income taxes. FirstEnergy’s effective tax rate on continuing operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, was 13.4% and 20.6%, respectively. The change in effective tax rate was primarily due to a $52 million reduction in valuation allowances from the recognition of deferred gains on prior intercompany generation asset transfers triggered by the FES Debtors’ emergence from bankruptcy and deconsolidation from FirstEnergy’s consolidated federal income tax group in the first quarter of 2020, and a $10 million benefit from accelerated amortization of certain investment tax credits in the second quarter of 2020. See Note 3, “Discontinued Operations,” for other tax matters relating to the FES Bankruptcy that were recognized in discontinued operations. During the nine months ended September 30, 2020, FirstEnergy remeasured its reserve for uncertain tax positions for federal and state tax benefits related to the worthless stock deduction, resulting in a net decrease to the reserve of approximately $28 million, none of which had an impact on the effective tax rate. As of September 30, 2020, it is reasonably possible that within the next twelve months FirstEnergy could record a net decrease of approximately $57 million to its reserve for uncertain tax positions due to the expiration of the statute of limitations or resolution with taxing authorities, of which approximately $55 million would impact FirstEnergy’s effective tax rate. On March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the CARES Act, an economic stimulus package in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act contains several corporate income tax provisions, including making remaining AMT credits immediately refundable; providing a 5-year carryback of NOLs generated in tax years 2018, 2019, and 2020, and removing the 80% taxable income limitation on utilization of those NOLs if carried back to prior tax years or utilized in tax years beginning before 2021; and temporarily liberalizing the interest deductibility rules under Section 163(j) of the Tax Act, by raising the adjusted taxable income limitation from 30% to 50% for tax years 2019 and 2020 and giving taxpayers the election of using 2019 adjusted taxable income for purposes of computing 2020 interest deductibility. FirstEnergy has approximately $18 million of refundable AMT credits that will be fully refundable through the CARES Act, however, does not expect to generate additional income tax refunds from the NOL carryback provision and expects interest to be fully deductible starting in 2020. FirstEnergy does not currently expect the other provisions of the CARES Act to have a material effect on current income tax expense or the realizability of deferred income tax assets. On July 28, 2020, the IRS issued final regulations implementing interest expense deduction limitation rules under section 163(j) of the Internal Revenue Code. The final regulations changed certain rules on the computation of interest expense and limitation amount, as well as rules relevant to status as a regulated utility business and the allocation of consolidated group interest expense between utility and non-utility businesses. After reviewing the final regulations, FirstEnergy recorded a true-up to prior years’ reserve estimates during the quarter, which did not have a material impact to FirstEnergy’s income statement.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for income taxes. Disclosures may include net deferred tax liability or asset recognized in an enterprise's statement of financial position, net change during the year in the total valuation allowance, approximate tax effect of each type of temporary difference and carryforward that gives rise to a significant portion of deferred tax liabilities and deferred tax assets, utilization of a tax carryback, and tax uncertainties information. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 21 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84230637&loc=d3e32857-109319 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 2 -Subparagraph (SAB Topic 11.C) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=116825942&loc=d3e330215-122817 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 17 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84230637&loc=d3e32809-109319 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SAB TOPIC 6.I.5.Q1) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=116825942&loc=d3e330036-122817 Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 14 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84230637&loc=d3e32705-109319 Reference 6: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 270 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6424409&loc=d3e44925-109338 Reference 7: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2144680 Reference 8: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 30 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -Subparagraph (a) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6424122&loc=d3e41874-109331 + Details
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