Annual report [Section 13 and 15(d), not S-K Item 405]

Income Taxes (Tables)

v3.25.4
Income Taxes (Tables)
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2025
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Schedule of Income before Income Tax, Domestic and Foreign
The jurisdictional components of income before income taxes and non-controlling interests on our Consolidated Statements of Operations are as follows (in millions):
Year Ended December 31,
2025 2024 2023
U.S. federal $ 7,239  $ 4,696  $ 11,176 
International 1,043  607  3,402 
Total income before income taxes and non-controlling interests $ 8,282  $ 5,303  $ 14,578 
Schedule of Components of Income Tax Expense (Benefit)
Income tax provision included in our reported net income consisted of the following (in millions): 
Year Ended December 31,
2025 2024 2023
Current:
U.S. federal $ (383) $ 471  $ 130 
State 1  2  1 
Foreign 11  8  (1)
Total current (371) 481  130 
Deferred:
U.S. federal 1,846  319  2,377 
State 12  9  15 
Foreign 1  2  (3)
Total deferred 1,859  330  2,389 
Total income tax provision $ 1,488  $ 811  $ 2,519 
Schedule of Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation
Our income tax rates do not bear a customary relationship to statutory income tax rates. A reconciliation of the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate of 21% to our effective income tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2025 is as follows: 
Year Ended December 31, 2025
Amount
(in millions)		 Percent (2)
U.S. federal statutory tax rate $ 1,739  21.0  %
State and local income taxes, net of federal income tax effect (1) 11  0.1 
Foreign tax effects
United Kingdom
Cheniere Marketing income not taxable in the U.K. under transfer pricing principles (249) (3.0)
Other 40  0.5 
Other foreign jurisdictions 2  — 
Effects of cross-border tax laws (2) — 
Tax credits (4) (0.1)
Changes in valuation allowance 54  0.7 
Nontaxable or nondeductible items
CQP income not taxable to Cheniere (313) (3.8)
Other 9  0.1 
Changes in unrecognized tax benefits 3  — 
Other adjustments
Cheniere Marketing income taxable in the U.S. under transfer pricing principles 209  2.5 
Other (11) — 
Effective tax rate as reported $ 1,488  18.0  %
(1)State taxes in Louisiana and Texas contributed to the majority of the tax effect in this category.
(2)The percentages in the table may not recalculate exactly due to rounding as the percentages are calculated based on whole numbers, not the rounded numbers presented.
As previously disclosed for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, prior to the adoption of ASU 2023-09, a reconciliation of the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate of 21% to our effective income tax rate was as follows:
Year Ended December 31,
2024 2023
U.S. federal statutory tax rate 21.0  % 21.0  %
Income not taxable to Cheniere (5.0) (3.1)
Foreign-derived intangible income deduction (1.0) (0.7)
Changes in valuation allowance (0.7) — 
Other 1.0  0.1 
Effective tax rate as reported 15.3  % 17.3  %
Schedule of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities
Significant components of our deferred tax assets and liabilities are as follows (in millions): 
December 31,
2025 2024
Deferred tax assets    
Net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforwards
U.S. federal $ 245  $ 313 
State 119  119 
Tax Credits
CAMT carryforward —  383 
Other tax credits 50  40 
Operating lease liabilities 566  562 
Other 447  306 
Less: valuation allowance (1) (170) (110)
Total deferred tax assets 1,257  1,613 
Deferred tax liabilities  
Investment in partnerships (375) (305)
Property, plant and equipment (3,277) (2,459)
Operating lease assets (553) (548)
Derivative instruments (696) (108)
Other (42) (30)
Total deferred tax liabilities (4,943) (3,450)
Net deferred tax liabilities $ (3,686) $ (1,837)
(1)Valuation allowance primarily relates to a valuation allowance recorded on U.S. federal capital loss carryforwards and state NOL carryforwards and increased by $60 million during the year ended December 31, 2025 primarily due to a capital loss carryforward generated in the current year that we do not expect to realize before expiration. The valuation allowance decreased by $37 million during the year ended December 31, 2024 and increased by $4 million during the year ended December 31, 2023.
Schedule of Unrecognized Tax Benefits Roll Forward
A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amounts of our unrecognized tax benefits is as follows (in millions): 
Year Ended December 31,
2025 2024 2023
Balance at beginning of the year $ 72  $ 73  $ 74 
Statute of limitations expiration (3) —  — 
Reductions for tax positions of prior years —  (1) (1)
Balance at end of the year $ 69  $ 72  $ 73 
Schedule of Components of Income Taxes Paid, Net
The following is a supplemental schedule of cash paid for income taxes, net of refunds, for the year ended December 31, 2025 (in millions):
Year Ended December 31,
2025
U.S. federal $ 47 
State and local 2 
Foreign
United Kingdom (18)
Other 1 
Total Foreign (17)
Total income taxes paid, net of refunds received $ 32