Income Taxes

On December 22, 2017, the U.S. government enacted comprehensive tax legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or the Tax Act. The Tax Act significantly revised the U.S. corporate income tax system, by among other things, lowering the corporate income tax rate. The federal income tax rate for tax years ending after December 31, 2017 is reduced from a maximum rate of 35% to 21%. The reduction in the corporate income tax rate caused us to adjust our deferred tax assets and liabilities, including the corresponding valuation allowance, to reflect the lower federal rate. We will monitor future interpretations of the Tax Act as they develop, and accordingly our estimates may change.

Our provision for income taxes consists of the following:



	For the year ended December 31,
	2017		2016		2015
Current:
Federal	$	—	$	—	$	—
State	454		424		574
	454		424		574
Deferred:
Federal	—		—		—
State	—		—		—
	—		—		—
Income tax provision	$	454	$	424	$	574

A reconciliation of our effective tax rate and the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate is as follows:



	For the year ended December 31,
	2017		2016		2015
Taxes at statutory U.S. federal income tax rate	35.0	%	35.0	%	35.0	%
Nontaxable income of SNH	(35.0	)%	(35.0	)%	(35.0	)%
State and local income taxes, net of federal tax benefit	0.3	%	0.3	%	0.4	%
Tax Act Adjustment	9.0	%	—	%	—	%
Change in valuation allowance	(6.5	)%	3.6	%	8.8	%
Other differences, net	(2.5	)%	(3.6	)%	(8.8	)%
Effective tax rate	0.3	%	0.3	%	0.4	%

Deferred income tax balances reflect the net tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets and the amounts used for income tax purposes and are stated at enacted tax rates expected to be in effect when taxes are actually paid or recovered. Significant components of our deferred tax assets and liabilities are as follows:



	For the year ended December 31,
	2017			2016
Deferred tax assets:
Deferred income	$	1,576		$	2,512

Other	172			222
Tax loss carryforwards	24,925			33,626
	26,673			36,360
Valuation allowance	(26,673		)	(36,360		)
	—			—
Net deferred income taxes	$	—		$	—

Because of our TRSs’ history of losses, we are not able to conclude that it is more likely than not we will realize the future benefit of our deferred tax assets; thus we have provided a 100% valuation allowance as of December 31, 2017 and 2016. If and when we believe it is more likely than not that we will recover our deferred tax assets, we will reverse the valuation allowance as an income tax benefit in our consolidated statements of comprehensive income. As of December 31, 2017, our consolidated TRSs had net operating loss carry forwards for federal income tax purposes of approximately $96,717, which, if unused, begin to expire in 2031. In the normal course of business, income tax authorities in various income tax jurisdictions conduct routine audits of our income tax returns filed in prior years. Income tax years subsequent to 2012 may be open to examination in some of the income tax jurisdictions in which we operate.