Vistra Corp.

6. INCOME TAXES

Vistra files a U.S. federal income tax return that includes the results of its consolidated subsidiaries. Vistra serves as the corporate parent of the Vistra consolidated group. Pursuant to applicable U.S. Department of the Treasury regulations and published guidance of the IRS, corporations that are members of a consolidated group have joint and several liability for the taxes of such group.

Income Tax (Expense) Benefit

The components of our income tax (expense) benefit are as follows:

We evaluate and update our annual effective income tax rate on an interim basis based on current and forecasted earnings and tax laws. The mix and timing of our actual earnings compared to annual projections, as well as the amount of pre-tax earnings in comparison to the required discrete items, can cause interim effective tax rate fluctuations.

For the three months ended March 31, 2026, the effective tax rate of 15.1% was lower than the U.S. federal statutory rate of 21% due primarily to permanent differences recorded discretely related to tax deductions available for stock-based compensation.

For the three months ended March 31, 2025, the effective tax rate of 39.6% was higher than the U.S. federal statutory rate of 21% due primarily to state income taxes and permanent differences recorded discretely related to tax deductions available for stock-based compensation.

Income Taxes Paid

For the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025, we paid state income taxes of $8 million and $5 million respectively, and received state tax refunds of $2 million andzero, respectively. We paidno federal income taxes in the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025.

OBBBA and CAMT

In July 2025, the legislation known as the OBBBA was signed into law and we have accounted for the effects in our consolidated financial statements. Key changes include the immediate expensing of domestic research and development costs, the reinstatement of 100% bonus depreciation, and increases in the limitation of interest deductibility. Certain provisions of the OBBBA will change the timing of cash tax payments in the current fiscal year and future year periods, however the legislation did not have a material impact on our effective income tax rate. We do not expect Vistra to be subject to the corporate alternative minimum tax (CAMT) in the 2026 tax year. We have taken the CAMT and forecasted OBBBA impacts into account when forecasting cash taxes.