v3.19.1

Income Taxes Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Income before Income Tax, Domestic and Foreign

The jurisdictional components of income from continuing operations before income tax expense (benefit), attributable to Calpine, for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, are as follows (in millions):

	2018				2017				2016
U.S.	$	47			$	(358	)		$	116
International	27				27				24
Total	$	74			$	(331	)		$	140

Schedule of Components of Income Tax Expense (Benefit)

The components of income tax expense from continuing operations for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, consisted of the following (in millions):

	2018				2017				2016
Current:
Federal	$	—			$	(10	)		$	(10	)
State	20				18				14
Foreign	(3		)		(14		)		1
Total current	17				(6		)		5
Deferred:
Federal	(1		)		5				10
State	(6		)		6				27
Foreign	54				3				6
Total deferred	47				14				43
Total income tax expense	$	64			$	8			$	48

Schedule of Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation

A reconciliation of the federal statutory rate of 21% and, prior to 2018, 35% to our effective rate from continuing operations for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, is as follows:

	2018			2017			2016
Federal statutory tax rate	21.0	%		35.0	%		35.0	%
State tax expense, net of federal benefit	17.0			(6.0	)		19.4
Change in tax rate of net deferred tax asset	—			(168.8	)		—
Valuation allowances offsetting tax rate change	—			168.8			—
Valuation allowances against future tax benefits	(31.7	)		(33.0	)		(25.0	)
Valuation allowance related to foreign taxes	(138.3	)		0.5			(0.1	)
Decrease in foreign NOL due to change in ownership	202.3			—			—
Distributions from foreign affiliates and foreign taxes	6.6			(2.0	)		(0.6	)
Change in unrecognized tax benefits	(8.0	)		5.1			(0.1	)
Disallowed compensation	7.7			(0.6	)		0.9
Stock-based compensation	(1.5	)		(0.9	)		2.2
Equity earnings	1.4			(0.8	)		2.0
Merger Related Fees/Expenses	12.7			—			—
Depletion in excess of basis	(4.0	)		—			—
Other differences	1.3			0.3			0.6
Effective income tax rate	86.5	%		(2.4	)%		34.3	%

Schedule of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

The components of deferred income taxes as of December 31, 2018 and 2017, are as follows (in millions):

	2018				2017
Deferred tax assets:
NOL and credit carryforwards	$	1,595			$	1,810
Taxes related to risk management activities and derivatives	7				20
Reorganization items and impairments	166				146
Other differences	101				28
Deferred tax assets before valuation allowance	1,869				2,004
Valuation allowance	(1,000		)		(1,168		)
Total deferred tax assets	869				836
Deferred tax liabilities:
Property, plant and equipment	(890		)		(805		)
Total deferred tax liabilities	(890		)		(805		)
Net deferred tax asset (liability)	(21		)		31
Less: Non-current deferred tax liability	(22		)		(28		)
Deferred income tax asset, non-current	$	1			$	59

Schedule of Income Tax Contingencies

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amounts of our unrecognized tax benefits for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, is as follows (in millions):

	2018				2017				2016
Balance, beginning of period	$	(38	)		$	(59	)		$	(58	)
Increases related to prior year tax positions	(7		)		—				—
Decreases related to prior year tax positions	17				11				1
Increases related to current year tax positions	—				(2		)		(2		)
Decreases related to change in tax rate of net deferred tax asset	—				12				—
Balance, end of period	$	(28	)		$	(38	)		$	(59	)

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Tabular disclosure of the components of income tax expense attributable to continuing operations for each year presented including, but not limited to: current tax expense (benefit), deferred tax expense (benefit), investment tax credits, government grants, the benefits of operating loss carryforwards, tax expense that results from allocating certain tax benefits either directly to contributed capital or to reduce goodwill or other noncurrent intangible assets of an acquired entity, adjustments of a deferred tax liability or asset for enacted changes in tax laws or rates or a change in the tax status of the entity, and adjustments of the beginning-of-the-year balances of a valuation allowance because of a change in circumstances that causes a change in judgment about the realizability of the related deferred tax asset in future years.

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Tabular disclosure of the components of net deferred tax asset or liability recognized in an entity's statement of financial position, including the following: the total of all deferred tax liabilities, the total of all deferred tax assets, the total valuation allowance recognized for deferred tax assets.

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Tabular disclosure of the reconciliation using percentage or dollar amounts of the reported amount of income tax expense attributable to continuing operations for the year to the amount of income tax expense that would result from applying domestic federal statutory tax rates to pretax income from continuing operations.

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Tabular disclosure of income before income tax between domestic and foreign jurisdictions.

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Tabular disclosure for tax positions taken in the tax returns filed or to be filed for which it is more likely than not that the tax position will not be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities and other income tax contingencies. Includes, but is not limited to, interest and penalties, reconciliation of unrecognized tax benefits, unrecognized tax benefits that would affect the effective tax rate, tax years that remain subject to examination by tax jurisdictions, and information about positions for which it is reasonably possible that amounts unrecognized will significantly change within 12 months.

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