NOTE 12 — 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, 2022 was 24.6% and 24.3%, respectively and for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021 was 22.4% and 21.6%, respectively. The higher tax rate for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 is due to the expiration of Internal Revenue Code ("IRC") §45L new energy efficient homes credit, which was enacted into law under the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2019 and subsequently extended through December 31, 2021 by enactment of the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020. Since the new energy efficient homes credit has not been extended beyond 2021, the effective tax rates in 2022 do not include such benefits.

At June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, 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 the provision for income taxes.

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 and no NOL carryovers at June 30, 2022.

At June 30, 2022, we have a current income tax payable of $5.6 million and no income taxes receivable. The income taxes payable primarily 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 on the accompanying unaudited consolidated balance sheets at June 30, 2022.

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 2017. We have no federal or state income tax examinations being conducted at this time.