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Income Taxes (Tables) | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2016
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract] |
Schedule of total income tax benefit (expense) | The total income tax benefit for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014 consisted of the following:
|  | Year Ended December 31,
Millions |  | 2016 |  | 2015 |  | 2014
Current tax benefit (expense): |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
U.S. federal |  | $ | 50.7 |  |  | $ | 9.1 |  |  | $ | (4.3 | )
State |  | (1.6 | ) |  | (1.8 | ) |  | (2.0 | )
Non-U.S. |  | (.8 | ) |  | (1.5 | ) |  | (1.4 | )
Total current tax benefit (expense) |  | 48.3 |  |  | 5.8 |  |  | (7.7 | )
Deferred tax (expense) benefit: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
U.S. federal |  | (2.3 | ) |  | (6.7 | ) |  | 22.8 |
State |  | (.6 | ) |  | 1.1 |  |  | (.3 | )
Total deferred tax (expense) benefit |  | (2.9 | ) |  | (5.6 | ) |  | 22.5 |
Total income tax benefit |  | $ | 45.4 |  |  | $ | .2 |  |  | $ | 14.8 |
Reconciliation of the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate and actual effective tax rate on pre-tax income | A reconciliation of taxes calculated using the 35% U.S. statutory rate (the tax rate at which the majority of White Mountains’s worldwide operations are taxed) to the income tax (expense) benefit on pre-tax income follows:
|  | Year Ended December 31,
Millions |  | 2016 |  | 2015 |  | 2014
Tax benefit (expense) at the U.S. statutory rate |  | $ | 14.1 |  |  | $ | (55.1 | ) |  | $ | 10.3 |
Differences in taxes resulting from: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Tax reserve adjustments |  | 13.7 |  |  | (1.7 | ) |  | 5.2 |
Change in valuation allowance |  | 9.1 |  |  | (19.4 | ) |  | (35.7 | )
Non-U.S. earnings, net of foreign taxes |  | 6.9 |  |  | 76.7 |  |  | 37.8 |
Tax rate changes |  | (3.5 | ) |  | — |  |  | — |
Tax exempt interest and dividends |  | 2.5 |  |  | 2.6 |  |  | 2.5 |
Withholding tax |  | (.5 | ) |  | (1.2 | ) |  | (2.4 | )
Other, net |  | 3.1 |  |  | (1.7 | ) |  | (2.9 | )
Total income tax benefit on pre-tax income |  | $ | 45.4 |  |  | $ | .2 |  |  | $ | 14.8 |
Schedule of components of deferred income tax assets and liabilities | An outline of the significant components of White Mountains’s deferred tax assets and liabilities follows:
|  | December 31,
Millions |  | 2016 |  | 2015
Deferred income tax assets related to: |  |  |  |  |  |
U.S. federal net operating and capital loss carryforwards |  | $ | 189.3 |  |  | $ | 191.0 |
Incentive compensation |  | 42.5 |  |  | 49.0 |
Unearned premiums |  | 37.8 |  |  | 37.5 |
Non-U.S. net operating loss carryforwards |  | 29.5 |  |  | 33.8 |
Tax credit carryforwards |  | 20.7 |  |  | 16.9 |
Loss reserve discount |  | 18.1 |  |  | 26.8 |
Runoff Transaction |  | 12.6 |  |  | 12.6 |
Deferred compensation |  | 5.7 |  |  | 6.2 |
Accrued interest |  | 2.2 |  |  | 1.3 |
Other items |  | 4.0 |  |  | 8.6 |
Total gross deferred income tax assets |  | 362.4 |  |  | 383.7 |
Less: valuation allowances |  | (146.6 | ) |  | (165.4 | )
Total net deferred income tax assets |  | 215.8 |  |  | 218.3 |
Deferred income tax liabilities related to: |  |  |  |  |  |
Deferred acquisition costs |  | 33.6 |  |  | 34.9 |
Members surplus contributions |  | 30.0 |  |  | 19.0 |
SSIE Surplus Notes |  | 7.1 |  |  | — |
Pension and benefit accruals |  | 6.4 |  |  | 3.5 |
Capitalized software |  | 4.7 |  |  | 4.5 |
Investment basis difference |  | 4.1 |  |  | 15.2 |
Net unrealized investment gains |  | 2.9 |  |  | 28.4 |
Other items |  | .3 |  |  | — |
Total deferred income tax liabilities |  | 89.1 |  |  | 105.5 |
Net deferred tax asset |  | $ | 126.7 |  |  | $ | 112.8 |
Schedule of net operating and capital loss carryforwards by expiration dates and the deferred tax assets thereon | Net operating loss and capital loss carryforwards as of December 31, 2016, the expiration dates and the deferred tax assets thereon are as follows:
|  | December 31, 2016
Millions |  | United States |  | Luxembourg |  | United Kingdom |  | Israel |  | Total
2017-2021 |  | $ | .8 |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | .8 |
2022-2026 |  | 1.6 |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | 1.6 |
2027-2036 |  | 556.3 |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | 556.3 |
No expiration date |  | — |  |  | 93.8 |  |  | 3.2 |  |  | 19.8 |  |  | 116.8 |
Total |  | $ | 558.7 |  |  | $ | 93.8 |  |  | $ | 3.2 |  |  | $ | 19.8 |  |  | $ | 675.5 |
Gross deferred tax asset |  | 189.3 |  |  | 24.4 |  |  | .5 |  |  | 4.6 |  |  | 218.8 |
Valuation allowance |  | (115.4 | ) |  | (24.4 | ) |  | (.5 | ) |  | (4.6 | ) |  | (144.9 | )
Net deferred tax asset |  | $ | 73.9 |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 73.9 |
Reconciliation of changes in the amount of unrecognized tax benefits | A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits is as follows:
Millions |  | Permanent Differences(1) |  | Temporary Differences(2) |  | Interest and Penalties(3) |  | Total
Balance at January 1, 2014 |  | $ | 8.4 |  |  | $ | 16.6 |  |  | $ | 8.7 |  |  | $ | 33.7 |
Changes in prior year tax positions |  | (2.2 | ) |  | (.8 | ) |  | (1.9 | ) |  | (4.9 | )
Tax positions taken during the current year |  | — |  |  | 7.3 |  |  | — |  |  | 7.3 |
Lapse in statute of limitations |  | (.8 | ) |  | — |  |  | (.3 | ) |  | (1.1 | )
Balance at December 31, 2014 |  | 5.4 |  |  | 23.1 |  |  | 6.5 |  |  | 35.0 |
Changes in prior year tax positions |  | — |  |  | (12.4 | ) |  | 1.7 |  |  | (10.7 | )
Balance at December 31, 2015 |  | 5.4 |  |  | 10.7 |  |  | 8.2 |  |  | 24.3 |
Changes in prior year tax positions |  | — |  |  | (5.5 | ) |  | .1 |  |  | (5.4 | )
Settlements with tax authorities |  | (5.4 | ) |  | — |  |  | (8.3 | ) |  | (13.7 | )
Balance at December 31, 2016 |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 5.2 |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 5.2 |
(1) | Represents the amount of unrecognized tax benefits that, if recognized, would impact the effective tax rate.
(2) | Represents the amount of unrecognized tax benefits that, if recognized would create a temporary difference between the reported amount of an item in White Mountains’s Consolidated Balance Sheet and its tax basis.
(3) | Net of tax benefit.

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- Definition Tabular disclosure for tax positions taken in the tax returns filed or to be filed for which it is more likely than not that the tax position will not be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities and other income tax contingencies. Includes, but is not limited to, interest and penalties, reconciliation of unrecognized tax benefits, unrecognized tax benefits that would affect the effective tax rate, tax years that remain subject to examination by tax jurisdictions, and information about positions for which it is reasonably possible that amounts unrecognized will significantly change within 12 months. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 15A -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=65882285&loc=SL6600010-109319 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 15 -Subparagraph (d) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=65882285&loc=d3e32718-109319 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 19 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=65882285&loc=d3e32840-109319 + Details
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