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Income Taxes
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2021
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes INCOME TAXES
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security ("CARES") Act was signed into law on March 27, 2020. The CARES Act was initiated to provide stimulus and relief in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 ("COVID-19") pandemic and resulting economic collapse. While the CARES Act provides a number of potential benefits to companies, the Company has made use of the following provisions:
•Payroll Tax Deferral - Allows for the deferral of payment on the Company's share of the 6.2% Social Security tax on wages paid beginning on March 27, 2020 and ending on December 31, 2020. Deferred amounts are payable in two installments, with 50% of such taxes due on December 31, 2021, and the remainder due on December 31, 2022. This resulted in a total deferral of approximately $2.1 million of payroll taxes under this provision, as of December 31, 2020. We do not anticipate additional deferrals in 2021.
•Employee Retention Credits - Allows for a refundable tax credit for the Company's share of the 6.2% Social Security tax on wages. This tax credit applies to the first $10,000 in qualified wages paid to each employee commencing on March 13, 2020. To be eligible, the Company must (i) have had operations fully or partially suspended because of a shut-down order from a governmental authority related to COVID-19, or (ii) have had gross receipts decline by more than 50% in a calendar quarter when compared to the same quarter in 2019. Qualified wages are limited to wages paid to employees who were not providing services due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This resulted in a total claim of approximately $1.3 million in employee retention credits under this provision as of December 31, 2020. We do not anticipate additional material employee retention credits in 2021.
•Alternative Minimum Tax ("AMT") Credit - Allows for an immediate refund of all refundable AMT credits resulting from passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. This resulted in accelerated collection of approximately $1.3 million of other current assets which was received during the third quarter of 2020.
Spok files a consolidated U.S. federal income tax return and income tax returns in various state, local and foreign jurisdictions as required.
Our quarterly tax provision and our quarterly estimate of our annual effective tax rate are subject to significant variation due to several factors, including variability in accurately predicting our pre-tax and taxable income and loss and the mix of jurisdictions to which they relate, changes in how we do business, changes in our stock price, foreign currency gains (losses), tax law developments (including changes in statutes, regulations, case law, and administrative practices), and relative changes of expenses or losses for which tax benefits are not recognized. Additionally, our effective tax rate can be more or less volatile based on the amount of pre-tax income or loss. For example, the impact of discrete items and non-deductible expenses on our effective tax rate is greater when our pre-tax income is lower.
For 2021, the anticipated effective income tax rate is expected to continue to differ from the federal statutory rate of 21% primarily due to the effect of state income taxes, research and development credits and related valuation allowance, permanent differences between book and taxable income, and certain discrete items.
We had total net deferred income tax assets ("DTAs") of $26.7 million and $25.8 million at September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, respectively. We had a valuation allowance of $23.1 million and $22.1 million at September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, respectively.
We assess the recoverability of our deferred income tax assets, which represent the tax benefits of future tax deductions, based on available positive and negative evidence and by considering the adequacy of future taxable income from all sources, including prudent and feasible tax planning strategies. This assessment is required to determine whether, based on all available evidence, it is "more likely than not" (meaning a probability of greater than 50%) that all or some portion of the deferred income tax assets will be realized in future periods. During the fourth quarter of each year, we update our multi-year forecast of taxable income for our operations, which assists in analyzing the recoverability of our DTAs.
Deferred income tax assets which are not currently covered by a valuation allowance are those that are indefinite-lived, or whose temporary differences would reverse in the future and may result in the creation of an indefinite-lived deferred income tax asset, which we consider to be realized through future taxable income despite near term uncertainties. The amount of deferred income tax assets considered realizable, however, could be adjusted in the future if objective negative evidence in the form of cumulative losses is no longer present, additional weight is given to subjective evidence such as our projections for future profitability and growth, or other relevant factors arise.