INCOME TAXES |
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Jun. 30, 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 and six months ended June 30, 2020 was 21.7% and 20.2%, and for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 was 24.9% and 23.8%, respectively. The six months ended June 30, 2020 tax rate reflects the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2019 enacted into law on December 20, 2019. That act extended eligibility for the Internal Revenue Code ("IRC") §45L new energy efficient homes credit for years 2018 through 2020. For the first half of 2020, we recorded a tax benefit from the new law based on estimates for qualifying new energy efficient homes. For the first half of 2019, the tax benefit from the new law was not reflected in the tax rate due to the December enactment date. There is a small amount of §45L tax benefit in the first half of 2019, from our efforts to capture additional energy credits from 2016 and 2017 home closings. In the first half of 2019 and 2020, we recorded tax benefits from equity-based compensation for stock awards vested in the quarter. These tax benefits have a favorable impact on our effective tax rates.
On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security ("CARES Act") was enacted into law in response to the widespread economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the CARES Act has several provisions which may benefit our company and its employees, these provisions are not expected to have a material impact on our tax rate in 2020. We will continue to monitor the CARES Act and will take advantage of favorable tax-related provisions if and when applicable.
At June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, 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, 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 or NOL carryovers at June 30, 2020.
At June 30, 2020, we had no remaining federal NOL carry forward or un-utilized federal tax credits. At June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, we had tax benefits for state NOL carry forwards of $0.8 million, net of federal benefit, that begin to expire in 2030.
At June 30, 2020, we have income taxes payable of $31.7 million and income taxes receivable of $5.0 million. The income taxes payable primarily consists of current federal and state tax accruals, net of estimated tax payments. This amount is recorded in Accrued liabilities on the accompanying unaudited balance sheet at June 30, 2020. The income taxes receivable primarily consists of energy tax credits related to homes that closed through 2017 and is recorded in Other receivables on the accompanying unaudited balance sheet at June 30, 2020.
We conduct business and are subject to tax in the U.S. both federally and in 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 2015. 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 June 30, 2020 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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