Table:
|  |  | (dollars in millions) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| At December 31, | 2019 | 2018 |
| Deferred Tax Assets |  |  |
| Employee benefits | $ 5,048 | $ 5,403 |
| Tax loss and credit carry forwards | 3,012 | 3,576 |
| Other – assets | 5,595 | 1,650 |
|  | 13,655 | 10,629 |
| Valuation allowances | (2,260) | (2,741) |
| Deferred tax assets | 11,395 | 7,888 |
| Deferred Tax Liabilities |  |  |
| Spectrum and other intangible amortization | 22,388 | 21,976 |
| Depreciation | 16,884 | 15,662 |
| Other—liabilities | 6,742 | 3,976 |
| Deferred tax liabilities | 46,014 | 41,614 |
| Net deferred tax liability | $ 34,619 | $ 33,726 |
Paragraphs:
Deferred taxes arise because of differences in the book and tax bases of certain assets and liabilities. Significant components of deferred tax assets and liabilities are as follows:
At December 31, 2019, undistributed earnings of our foreign subsidiaries indefinitely invested outside the U.S. amounted to approximately $3.8 billion. The majority of Verizon’s cash flow is generated from domestic operations and we are not dependent on foreign cash or earnings to meet our funding requirements, nor do we intend to repatriate these undistributed foreign earnings to fund U.S. operations.
Furthermore, a portion of these undistributed earnings represents amounts that legally must be kept in reserve in accordance with certain foreign jurisdictional requirements and are unavailable for distribution or repatriation. As a result, we have not provided U.S. deferred taxes on these undistributed earnings because we intend that they will remain indefinitely reinvested outside of the U.S. and therefore unavailable for use in funding U.S. operations. Determination of the amount of unrecognized deferred taxes related to these undistributed earnings is not practicable.
At December 31, 2019, we had net after-tax loss and credit carry forwards for income tax purposes of approximately $3.0 billion that primarily relate to state and foreign taxes. Of these net after-tax loss and credit carry forwards, approximately $2.0 billion will expire between 2020 and 2039 and approximately $1.0 billion may be carried forward indefinitely.
During 2019, the valuation allowance decreased approximately $481 million. The balance of the valuation allowance at December 31, 2019 and the 2019 activity is primarily related to state and foreign taxes.
Question:
What was the valuation allowance decrease in 2019?
Answer: $481 million