Meritage Homes Corporation Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

INCOME TAXES

INCOME TAXES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Components of income tax expense are as follows (in thousands):



	Years Ended December 31,
	2016		2015			2014
Current taxes:
Federal	$	55,547	$	53,510		$	58,461
State	7,075		2,726			1,133
	62,622		56,236			59,594
Deferred taxes:
Federal	4,064		(1,652		)	(3,470		)
State	1,833		6,142			10,052
	5,897		4,490			6,582
Total	$	68,519	$	60,726		$	66,176

Income taxes differ for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, from the amounts computed using the expected federal statutory income tax rate of 35% as a result of the following (in thousands):



	Years Ended December 31,
	2016			2015			2014
Expected taxes at current federal statutory income tax rate	$	76,321		$	66,312		$	72,946
State income taxes, net of federal tax benefit	5,791			5,764			7,271
Manufacturing deduction	(6,708		)	(5,917		)	(6,499		)
Federal tax credits	(7,229		)	(6,172		)	(7,835		)
Non-deductible costs and other	344			739			293
Income tax expense	$	68,519		$	60,726		$	66,176

The effective tax rate was 31.4%, 32.1% and 31.8% for 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. The effective tax rate for 2016, 2015 and 2014 reflects the benefit of energy tax credits and the homebuilder manufacturing deduction for qualified domestic production activities.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are netted on our balance sheet by tax jurisdiction. Net overall 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 other liabilities. At December 31, 2016, we have a net deferred tax asset of $53.3 million. We also have net deferred tax liabilities of $3.1 million. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are comprised of timing differences (in thousands) as follows:



	At December 31,
	2016		2015
Deferred tax assets:
Real estate	$	21,525	$	19,622
Goodwill	6,153		9,263
Warranty reserve	8,408		8,115
Wages payable	11,002		10,633
Equity-based compensation	7,030		7,040
Accrued expenses	250		7,063
Net operating loss carry-forwards	1,366		1,495
Other	3,695		2,325
Total deferred tax assets	59,429		65,556

Deferred tax liabilities:
Deferred revenue	1,455		2,209
Prepaids	933		925
Fixed assets	3,721		3,275
Total deferred tax liabilities	6,109		6,409

Deferred tax assets, net	53,320		59,147
Other deferred tax liability - state franchise taxes	3,128		3,058

Net deferred tax assets and liabilities	$	50,192	$	56,089

At December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, we have no unrecognized tax benefits due to the lapse of the statute of limitations and completion of audits for prior years. 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 ("ASC 740"). We evaluate our deferred tax assets, including the benefit from 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 NOL carryovers at December 31, 2016.

Our future NOL and 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, 2016, we had no remaining un-utilized federal NOL carryforward or federal tax credits. At December 31, 2016, we had tax benefits for state NOL carryforwards of $1.4 million that begin to expire in 2028.

At December 31, 2016, we have income taxes payable of $3.2 million, which primarily consists of current federal and state tax accruals, net of estimated tax payments. This amount is recorded in Accrued liabilities in the accompanying balance sheet at December 31, 2016.

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 2012. We have one state income tax examination covering various years pending resolution at this time.

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 Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) §382. Based on our analysis performed as of December 31, 2016 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.

On December 16, 2014, Congress passed the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 (the "Extenders Act"), which the President signed into law on December 19, 2014. The Extenders Act extended the availability of the IRC §45L new energy efficient homes credit to the end of 2014. On December 18, 2015, Congress passed the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes ("PATH") Act of 2015. The PATH Act further extended the availability of the IRC §45L new energy efficient homes credit through the end of 2016. Under ASC 740, the effects of 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 tax effected benefits based on estimates for qualifying new energy efficient homes that we closed in 2014, 2015 and 2016. The estimated tax effected benefits as adjusted for actual experience are reflected in our effective tax rate reconciliation as the benefit from federal tax credits.