Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

INCOME TAXES

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INCOME TAXES
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2021
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
INCOME TAXES INCOME TAXES
Components of the income tax provision are as follows (in thousands): 
  Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30,
  2021 2020 2021 2020
Federal $ 47,955  $ 21,692  $ 115,781  $ 54,594 
State 13,002  4,696  27,572  12,659 
Total $ 60,957  $ 26,388  $ 143,353  $ 67,253 

The effective tax rate for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 was 23.3% and 22.3%, and for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 was 19.5% and 19.9%, respectively. The higher tax rates for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 reflect increased profits in states with higher tax rates and the reduced benefit of credits earned under the Internal Revenue Code ("IRC") §45L new energy efficient homes credit due to greater overall profitability of the Company.

At September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, 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 September 30, 2021.
At September 30, 2021, we have income taxes payable of $15.8 million and income taxes receivable of $0.7 million. The income taxes payable primarily consists of current federal and state 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 September 30, 2021. The income taxes receivable primarily consists of additional energy tax credits claimed by amending prior year tax returns and is recorded in Other receivables on the accompanying unaudited consolidated balance sheets at September 30, 2021.
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 2016. We have no federal or state income tax examinations being conducted at this time.
The future 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 September 30, 2021 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.