Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

INCOME TAXES

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INCOME TAXES
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
INCOME TAXES INCOME TAXES
Components of income tax expense are as follows (in thousands):
 
  Years Ended December 31,
  2020 2019 2018
Current taxes:
Federal $ 99,174  $ 41,019  $ 37,926 
State 21,012  11,644  9,162 
120,186  52,663  47,088 
Deferred taxes:
Federal (9,725) (8) 6,687 
State (370) 627  2,147 
(10,095) 619  8,834 
Total $ 110,091  $ 53,282  $ 55,922 

Income taxes for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, differ from the expected amounts computed using the federal statutory income tax rate of 21% as a result of the following (in thousands):
  Years Ended December 31,
  2020 2019 2018
Expected taxes at current federal statutory income tax rate $ 112,049  $ 63,618  $ 59,483 
State income taxes, net of federal tax benefit 16,307  9,999  8,934 
Tax Act revaluation of deferred tax balances —  —  (2,741)
Federal tax credits (16,523) (20,582) (10,330)
Non-deductible costs and other (1,742) 247  576 
Income tax expense $ 110,091  $ 53,282  $ 55,922 
The effective tax rate was 20.6%, 17.6%, and 19.7% for 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The rates in all three years are due to extension of the Internal Revenue Code ("IRC") §45L new energy efficient homes credits, and additional energy tax credits obtained by qualifying more homes in open prior tax years. The rate in 2019 also reflects the additional benefit of energy tax credit for the 2018 tax year that was realized in the 2019 tax year due to the retroactive application of the 2019 Act.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are netted on our balance sheet by tax jurisdiction. Net overall deferred tax assets for all jurisdictions are grouped and included as a separate asset. Net overall deferred tax liabilities for all jurisdictions are grouped and included in Accrued liabilities. At December 31, 2020, we have a net deferred tax asset of $36.0 million. We also have net deferred tax liabilities of $4.5 million. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are comprised of timing differences (in thousands) as follows:
At December 31,
2020 2019
Deferred tax assets:
Real estate $ 18,710  $ 12,090 
Warranty reserve 5,588  5,190 
Wages payable 7,798  6,429 
Equity-based compensation 7,114  5,991 
Accrued expenses 193  75 
Net operating loss carry-forwards —  752 
Other 5,498  4,488 
Total deferred tax assets 44,901  35,015 
Deferred tax liabilities:
Goodwill 879  3 
Prepaids 1,487  2,113 
Fixed assets 6,495  6,982 
Total deferred tax liabilities 8,861  9,098 
Deferred tax assets, net 36,040  25,917 
Other deferred tax liabilities - state franchise taxes 4,476  4,449 
Net deferred tax assets and liabilities $ 31,564  $ 21,468 

At December 31, 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 ("ASC 740"). 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 carryforward periods, experiences with operating losses and experiences of utilizing tax credit carryforwards and tax planning alternatives. We have no valuation allowance on our deferred tax assets and no NOL carryovers at December 31, 2020.
On December 22, 2017, the President signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ("Tax Act"). Under ASC 740, the effects of new legislation are recognized in the period that includes the date of enactment. The estimated impact on 2017 was to reduce the value of our deferred tax asset by $19.7 million, which was reflected in our effective tax rate reconciliation for that year. The impact was our most reasonable estimate at that time based on our understanding of the Tax Act as it applied to our business and changed as more information became available. At December 31, 2018, we had completed our accounting for the
income tax effects of the Tax Act on our deferred tax assets. In accordance with SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 and ASC 740, we revised the valuation of our 2017 deferred tax assets for the impact of the Tax Act based on completion of our 2017 income tax returns in 2018. Accordingly, in 2018 we recorded a favorable revaluation adjustment of $2.7 million which was reflected in our effective tax rate reconciliation for 2018.
On February 9, 2018, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 was enacted and extended the availability for the IRC §45L new energy efficient homes credit retroactively to the end of 2017. In accordance with ASC 740, we recognized a tax benefit of $8.1 million in 2018 for qualifying new homes closed in 2017. The tax effected benefit is reflected in our effective tax rate reconciliation as the benefit from federal tax credits.
In December of 2019, Congress passed the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2019 as a part of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (the "2020 Act") which the President signed into law on December 20, 2019. The 2020 Act further extended the availability of the IRC §45L new energy efficient homes credit (the "energy tax credit") through the end of 2020. Under ASC 740, the effects of the new legislation are recognized in the period that includes the date of enactment, regardless of the retroactive benefit. In accordance with this guidance, we recorded a tax benefit of $19.9 million based on our estimate for qualifying new energy efficient homes that we closed in 2018 and 2019. The estimated tax effected benefit is reflected in our effective tax rate reconciliation as the benefit from federal tax credits. In December of 2020, the energy tax credit was extended through the end of 2021 and we expect to recognize a benefit from this extension.
Our future deferred tax asset realization depends on sufficient taxable income in the carryforward periods under existing tax laws. Federal NOL carryforwards may be used to offset future taxable income for 20 years. State NOL carryforwards may be used to offset future taxable income for a period of time ranging from 5 to 20 years, depending on the state jurisdiction. At December 31, 2020, we had no remaining un-utilized federal NOL carryforward, federal tax credits, or state NOL carryforwards.
At December 31, 2020, we have a current tax payable of $25.3 million, which consists of current federal and state income tax accruals net of current energy tax credits and estimated tax payments. This amount is recorded in Accrued liabilities in the accompanying balance sheet at December 31, 2020. At December 31, 2020, we have a current tax receivable of $0.7 million from amending prior year returns to claim additional energy tax credits. This amount is recorded in Other Receivables in the accompanying balance sheet at December 31, 2020.
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 2016. We have no federal or state income tax examinations being conducted at this time.
The future tax benefits from any 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 December 31, 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.