INCOME TAXES |
3 Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Mar. 31, 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| INCOME TAXES |
INCOME TAXES
Components of the income tax provision are as follows (in thousands):
The effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and March 31, 2018 was 21.5% and 10.2%, respectively. The lower 2018 rate reflects the impact from the President signing the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 in February 2018, which included a retroactive extension of the Internal Revenue Code ("IRC") §45L new energy efficient homes credit that had previously expired in 2016. This extension provision provided for a single year extension of energy tax credits for homes sold in 2017 that met the qualification criteria. Under ASC 740, the effects of these tax credits were required to be recorded in 2018, based on the date of enactment, regardless of the retroactive treatment, resulting in a $6.3 million reduction of the federal tax provision in 2018. In the first quarter of 2019, we recorded a relatively minor tax benefit from our efforts to capture additional energy credits from 2016 and 2017. We also recorded a tax benefit from equity-based compensation for awards vested in the quarter. These tax benefits had a favorable impact on our 2019 effective tax rate.
At March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, we have no unrecognized tax benefits. We believe that our current income tax filing positions and deductions will be sustained on audit and do not anticipate any adjustments that will result in a material change. Our policy is to accrue interest and penalties on unrecognized tax benefits and include them in federal income tax expense.
We determine our deferred tax assets and liabilities in accordance with ASC 740-10, Income Taxes. We evaluate our deferred tax assets, including the benefit from net operating losses ("NOLs"), by jurisdiction to determine if a valuation allowance is required. Companies must assess whether a valuation allowance should be established based on the consideration of all available evidence using a “more likely than not” standard with significant weight being given to evidence that can be objectively verified. This assessment considers, among other matters, the nature, frequency and severity of cumulative losses, forecasts of future profitability, the length of statutory carry forward periods, experiences with operating losses and experiences of utilizing tax credit carry forwards and tax planning alternatives. We have no valuation allowance on our deferred tax assets and NOL carryovers at March 31, 2019.
At March 31, 2019, we had no remaining federal NOL carry forward or un-utilized federal tax credits. At March 31, 2019, and December 31, 2018 we had tax benefits for state NOL carry forwards of $1.0 million, net of federal benefit, that begin to expire in 2028.
At March 31, 2019, we have income taxes payable of $4.3 million, which primarily consists of current federal and state tax accruals, net of estimated tax payments and tax credits. This amount is recorded in Accrued liabilities on the accompanying unaudited balance sheet at March 31, 2019.
We conduct business and are subject to tax in the U.S. and several states. With few exceptions, we are no longer subject to U.S. federal, state, or local income tax examinations by taxing authorities for years prior to 2014. We have one state income tax examination being conducted at this time and do not expect it to have a material outcome.
The tax benefits from NOLs, built-in losses, and tax credits would be materially reduced or potentially eliminated if we experience an “ownership change” as defined under IRC §382. Based on our analysis performed as of March 31, 2019 we do not believe that we have experienced an ownership change. As a protective measure, our stockholders held a Special Meeting of Stockholders on February 16, 2009 and approved an amendment to our Articles of Incorporation that restricts certain transfers of our common stock. The amendment is intended to help us avoid an unintended ownership change and thereby preserve the value of any tax benefit for future utilization.
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