INCOME TAXES

Our income tax expense was $0.9 million for the six months ended March 31, 2019. Included in this expense was a net tax benefit discretely related to the six months ended March 31, 2019 of $0.3 million, primarily a result of expiring statute of limitations of uncertain tax benefits as well as excess tax benefits recognized on stock compensation. For the six months ended March 31, 2019, our effective tax rate before items discretely related to the period was less than the U.S. statutory rate due primarily to certain income tax credits generated in the U.S.

Income tax expense was $3.1 million for the six months ended March 31, 2018. Included in this expense was a net tax expense discretely related to the six months ended March 31, 2018 of $3.0 million, primarily as a result of new U.S. tax legislation that was enacted during the first quarter of fiscal 2018. For the six months ended March 31, 2018, our effective tax rate before items discretely related to the period was less than the U.S. statutory rate primarily due to the mix of income between taxing jurisdictions, certain of which had lower statutory tax rates than the U.S., and certain tax credits generated in the U.S.

Our effective tax rate will vary based on a variety of factors, including overall profitability, the geographical mix of income before taxes and related statutory tax rate in each jurisdiction, and tax items discretely related to the period, such as settlements of audits. We expect that we may record other benefits or expenses in the future that are specific to a particular quarter such as

11. INCOME TAXES (CONTINUED)

expiration of statutes of limitation, the completion of tax audits, or legislation that is enacted for both U.S. and foreign jurisdictions.

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits is (in thousands):



Unrecognized tax benefits as of September 30, 2018	$	1,561
Decreases related to:
Prior year income tax positions	(31		)
Expiration of statute of limitations	(56		)
Unrecognized tax benefits as of March 31, 2019	$	1,474

The total amount of unrecognized tax benefits that, if recognized, would affect our effective tax rate is $1.3 million, after considering the impact of interest and deferred benefit items. We expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will decrease by approximately $0.1 million over the next 12 months.