Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

INCOME TAXES

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INCOME TAXES
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2023
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,
  2023 2022 2023 2022
Federal $ 52,845  $ 54,114  $ 121,116  $ 177,577 
State 11,129  12,888  29,548  39,665 
Total $ 63,974  $ 67,002  $ 150,664  $ 217,242 

The effective tax rate for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023 was 22.4% and 21.8%, and for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022 was 20.3% and 22.9%, respectively. The higher tax rate for the three months ended September 30, 2023 compared to the 2022 period is due to the retroactive extension of the §45L energy-efficient homes federal tax credit on qualifying homes under the Internal Revenue Code ("IRC") enacted in the IRA in third quarter of 2022, which includes a nine-month catch up in the third quarter of 2022. The lower effective tax rate for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 compared to the 2022 period reflects the increased per-home energy-efficiency credit amount starting in 2023.
At September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, we have no unrecognized tax benefits. We believe 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. This evaluation 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 NOLs or credit carryovers, and determined that no valuation allowance on our deferred tax assets is necessary at September 30, 2023.
At September 30, 2023, we have $16.1 million in income taxes payable and no income taxes receivable. The income taxes payable primarily consists of current federal and state tax accruals, net of current energy tax credits and estimated tax payments and is recorded in Accrued liabilities on the accompanying unaudited consolidated balance sheets at September 30, 2023. 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 2018. We have one state income tax examination covering various years pending resolution at this time.