NOTE 16. INCOME TAXES

Income before income taxes included the following (dollars in millions):

 

 

 

Years ended December 31,

 

 

 

2025

 

 

2024

 

 

2023

 

U.S. income

 

$

756

 

 

$

878

 

 

$

776

 

Foreign income

 

 

48

 

 

 

19

 

 

 

51

 

Total

 

$

804

 

 

$

897

 

 

$

827

 

 

The provision for income tax expense was estimated as follows (dollars in millions):

 

 

 

Years ended December 31,

 

 

 

2025

 

 

2024

 

 

2023

 

Current income taxes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. federal

 

$

92

 

 

$

161

 

 

$

144

 

U.S. state and local

 

 

15

 

 

 

13

 

 

 

16

 

Foreign

 

 

10

 

 

 

9

 

 

 

11

 

Total Current

 

 

117

 

 

 

183

 

 

 

171

 

Deferred income tax expense (benefit), net:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. federal

 

 

49

 

 

 

(13

)

 

 

(15

)

U.S. state and local

 

 

12

 

 

 

(3

)

 

 

2

 

Foreign

 

 

3

 

 

 

(1

)

 

 

(4

)

Total Deferred

 

 

64

 

 

 

(17

)

 

 

(17

)

Total income tax expense

 

$

181

 

 

$

166

 

 

$

154

 

 

The following table reconciles income tax at the U.S. statutory rate to the reported consolidated income tax expense (dollars in millions):

 

 

 

Years ended December 31,

 

 

 

2025

 

 

2024

 

 

2023

 

 

 

Amount

 

 

Percentage

 

 

Amount

 

 

Percentage

 

 

Amount

 

 

Percentage

 

Tax at U.S. statutory income tax rate

 

$

169

 

 

 

21

%

 

$

189

 

 

 

21

%

 

$

174

 

 

 

21

%

Domestic U.S. federal reconciling items

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Effect of cross-border tax laws

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Foreign derived intangible income deduction

 

 

(13

)

 

 

(2

)%

 

 

(29

)

 

 

(3

)%

 

 

(25

)

 

 

(3

)%

Other

 

 

2

 

 

 

%

 

 

8

 

 

 

1

%

 

 

10

 

 

 

1

%

Tax credits

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research and development tax credits

 

 

(3

)

 

 

%

 

 

(14

)

 

 

(1

)%

 

 

(14

)

 

 

(2

)%

Nontaxable and nondeductible items

 

 

(1

)

 

 

%

 

 

2

 

 

 

%

 

 

(2

)

 

 

%

Changes in valuation allowances

 

 

 

 

 

%

 

 

 

 

 

%

 

 

(6

)

 

 

%

U.S. state and local taxes, net of federal income tax effect1

 

 

24

 

 

 

3

%

 

 

7

 

 

 

1

%

 

 

15

 

 

 

2

%

Foreign tax effects

 

 

3

 

 

 

1

%

 

 

3

 

 

 

%

 

 

2

 

 

 

%

Total income tax expense

 

$

181

 

 

 

23

%

 

$

166

 

 

 

19

%

 

$

154

 

 

 

19

%

(1)
State taxes in California, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin made up the majority (greater than 50 percent) of the tax effect in this category for each of the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023.

 

The effective tax rate for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 was 23% and 19%, respectively. The increase in the effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2025 was principally driven by elections made under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act ("OBBBA").

On July 4, 2025, the OBBBA was enacted into law. The OBBBA made a number of changes to U.S. federal income tax law that impacted the Company, including: allowing immediate deduction of the full cost of qualified capital investments, suspending the requirement to capitalize and amortize domestic research and development expenditures, and modifying the applicable rules for global intangible low-taxed income and foreign derived intangible income. The OBBBA impact resulted in an estimated $55 million of one-time cash tax savings during the year ending December 31, 2025.

Deferred income tax assets and liabilities as of December 31, 2025 and 2024 reflect the effect of temporary differences between amounts of assets, liabilities and equity for financial reporting purposes and the bases of such assets, liabilities and equity as measured by tax laws, as well as tax loss and tax credit carry forwards. Net deferred tax assets and liabilities are classified as non-current in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. As described above, the deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured based on the enacted tax rates that will apply in the years in which the temporary differences are expected to be recovered or paid.

The Company has not recognized any deferred tax liabilities associated with earnings in foreign subsidiaries, except for its subsidiary located in China, as they are intended to be permanently reinvested and used to support foreign operations or have no associated tax requirements. As of December 31, 2025, the Company has recorded a deferred tax liability of $3 million for the tax liability associated with the remittance of previously taxed income and unremitted earnings for its subsidiary located in China.

Temporary differences and carryforwards that gave rise to deferred tax assets and liabilities included the following (dollars in millions):

 

 

 

December 31,
2025

 

 

December 31,
2024

 

Deferred tax assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deferred revenue

 

$

30

 

 

$

30

 

Other accrued liabilities

 

 

25

 

 

 

34

 

Warranty accrual

 

 

17

 

 

 

12

 

Stock-based compensation

 

 

10

 

 

 

9

 

Tax credits

 

 

8

 

 

 

8

 

Inventories

 

 

8

 

 

 

8

 

Sales incentives

 

 

8

 

 

 

7

 

Transaction costs

 

 

6

 

 

 

 

Intangibles

 

 

4

 

 

 

 

Capitalized research

 

 

1

 

 

 

55

 

Other

 

 

17

 

 

 

18

 

Total deferred tax assets

 

 

134

 

 

 

181

 

Valuation allowances

 

 

(9

)

 

 

(9

)

Deferred tax liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goodwill

 

 

(425

)

 

 

(414

)

Trade name

 

 

(180

)

 

 

(176

)

Property, plant and equipment

 

 

(65

)

 

 

(61

)

Post-retirement

 

 

(4

)

 

 

(8

)

Other

 

 

(1

)

 

 

(4

)

Total deferred tax liabilities

 

 

(675

)

 

 

(663

)

Net deferred tax liability

 

$

(550

)

 

$

(491

)

 

Management has determined, based on an evaluation of available objective and subjective evidence, that it is more likely than not that certain federal and state deferred tax assets will not be realized; therefore, these deferred tax assets are offset with a valuation allowance of $9 million as of both December 31, 2025 and 2024.

All of the Company's tax returns, once filed, will remain subject to examination by the various taxing authorities for the duration of the applicable statute of limitations (generally three years from the earlier of the date of filing or the due date of the return).

Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2025Feb 24, 2026Showing above
2024Feb 13, 2025
2023Feb 14, 2024
2022Feb 16, 2023
2021Feb 17, 2022
2020Feb 18, 2021
2019Feb 27, 2020
2018Feb 26, 2019
2017Feb 15, 2018
2016Feb 24, 2017
2015Feb 19, 2016

About Income Taxes Disclosures

The income tax disclosure reveals how much a company actually pays in taxes versus what the statutory rate would predict. Analysts focus on the effective tax rate (ETR) reconciliation, which breaks down every item driving the gap between the 21% federal rate and the company's reported ETR — including R&D credits, foreign rate differentials, and state taxes. Deferred tax assets (DTAs) and their valuation allowances signal management's confidence in future profitability: a rising allowance suggests the company doubts it can use accumulated tax benefits. Uncertain tax benefit (UTB) reserves quantify exposure to IRS challenges on aggressive positions.

Key signals to watch: sudden ETR drops without clear operational reasons, large increases in valuation allowances, growing UTB balances, and significant unremitted foreign earnings. Post-TCJA, pay attention to GILTI and BEAT provisions that affect multinational tax structures. Compare the cash taxes paid (from the cash flow statement) against the income tax provision to gauge earnings quality.