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Income Taxes | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2015
Income Taxes | Note 9: Income Taxes Provisions for Federal and State Income Taxes reflected as operating expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of earnings for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 are shown in the table below:
|  | ($000’s) |
|  | 2015 |  |  | 2014 |  |  | 2013 |
Current Federal Tax Provision (Benefit) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Operating Income |  | $ | 3,710 |  |  | $ | 3,179 |  |  | $ | — |
Current Benefit of Operating Loss Carryforwards |  |  | (3,710 | ) |  |  | (3,179 | ) |  |  | — |
Total Current Federal Tax Provision (Benefit) |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |
Deferred Federal Tax Provision (Benefit) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Utility Plant Differences |  |  | 17,924 |  |  |  | 10,649 |  |  |  | 28,907 |
Net Operating Loss Carryforwards / (Carrybacks) |  |  | 2,374 |  |  |  | 2,589 |  |  |  | (8,053 | )
Regulatory Assets and Liabilities |  |  | (6,101 | ) |  |  | (5,946 | ) |  |  | (11,483 | )
Other, net |  |  | (1,784 | ) |  |  | 3,517 |  |  |  | 681 |
Total Deferred Federal Tax Provision (Benefit) |  |  | 12,413 |  |  |  | 10,809 |  |  |  | 10,052 |
Total Federal Tax Provision |  |  | 12,413 |  |  |  | 10,809 |  |  |  | 10,052 |
State |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Current |  |  | 3,530 |  |  |  | (387 | ) |  |  | 386 |
Deferred |  |  | (500 | ) |  |  | 3,573 |  |  |  | 2,214 |
Total State Tax Provision |  |  | 3,030 |  |  |  | 3,186 |  |  |  | 2,600 |
Total Provision for Federal and State Income Taxes |  | $ | 15,443 |  |  | $ | 13,995 |  |  | $ | 12,652 |
The differences between the Company’s provisions for Income Taxes and the provisions calculated at the statutory federal tax rate, expressed in percentages, are shown below:
|  | 2015 |  |  | 2014 |  |  | 2013 |
Statutory Federal Income Tax Rate |  |  | 34 | % |  |  | 34 | % |  |  | 34 | %
Income Tax Effects of: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
State Income Taxes, net |  |  | 5 |  |  |  | 2 |  |  |  | 5 |
Utility Plant Differences |  |  | (2 | ) |  |  | (1 | ) |  |  | (2 | )
Tax Credits and Other, net |  |  | — |  |  |  | 1 |  |  |  | — |
Effective Income Tax Rate |  |  | 37 | % |  |  | 36 | % |  |  | 37 | %
Temporary differences which gave rise to current deferred tax assets and liabilities in 2015 and 2014, are shown below:
Current Deferred Income Taxes (000’s) |  | 2015 |  |  | 2014 |
Accrued Revenue, Current Portion |  | $ | 5,090 |  |  | $ | (3,038 | )
Other, net |  |  | (348 | ) |  |  | (90 | )
Total Current Deferred Income Tax Assets (Liabilities) |  | $ | 4,742 |  |  | $ | (3,128 | )
Temporary differences which gave rise to noncurrent deferred tax assets and liabilities in 2015 and 2014, are shown below:
Noncurrent Deferred Income Taxes (000’s) |  | 2015 |  |  | 2014 |
Utility Plant Differences |  | $ | 141,185 |  |  | $ | 120,534 |
Retirement Benefit Obligations |  |  | (43,543 | ) |  |  | (44,829 | )
Net Operating Loss Carryforwards |  |  | (10,500 | ) |  |  | (13,122 | )
Regulatory Assets & Liabilities |  |  | 10,535 |  |  |  | 12,740 |
AMT Tax Credit Carryforwards |  |  | (2,677 | ) |  |  | (2,139 | )
Other, net |  |  | (2,792 | ) |  |  | (314 | )
Total Noncurrent Deferred Income Tax Liabilities |  | $ | 92,208 |  |  | $ | 72,870 |
The Company is subject to federal and state income taxes as well as various other business taxes. The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with the FASB Codification guidance on Income Taxes which requires an asset and liability approach for the financial accounting and reporting of income taxes. Significant judgments and estimates are required in determining the current and deferred tax assets and liabilities. The Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities reflect its best assessment of estimated future taxes to be paid. Periodically, the Company assesses the realization of its deferred tax assets and liabilities and adjusts the income tax provision, the current tax liability and deferred taxes in the period in which the facts and circumstances that gave rise to the revision become known. The Company filed its tax returns for the year ended December 31, 2014 with the Internal Revenue Service in September 2015 and generated additional federal net operating loss (NOL) carryforward assets principally due to current tax repair deductions, tax depreciation and research and development deductions. For the year ended December 31, 2015, the Company utilized $3.7 million of its federal NOL carryforward assets in the calculation of its provisions for income taxes for the period. As of December 31, 2015, the Company had recorded cumulative federal NOL carryforward assets of $11.3 million to offset against taxes payable in future periods. If unused, the Company’s federal NOL carryforward assets will begin to expire in 2029. In addition, at December 31, 2015, the Company had $2.1 million of cumulative Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) credit carryforwards to offset future AMT taxes payable indefinitely. In 2015, Unitil recognized a tax benefit of $63,000 in the tax provision related to Federal research and development tax credits under the rules of section 41 of the Internal Revenue Code, which the Company claimed on its 2014 tax return filed in September of 2015. The Company will continue to recognize a tax benefit on its incremental qualified research expenses and has recognized a tax benefit in the tax provision of $288,000 related to 2015 expenditures. The Company evaluated its tax positions at December 31, 2015 in accordance with the FASB Codification, and has concluded that no adjustment for recognition, derecognition, settlement and foreseeable future events to any tax liabilities or assets as defined by the FASB Codification is required. The Company remains subject to examination by Federal, Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire tax authorities for the tax periods ended December 31, 2012; December 31, 2013; and December 31, 2014.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for income taxes. Disclosures may include net deferred tax liability or asset recognized in an enterprise's statement of financial position, net change during the year in the total valuation allowance, approximate tax effect of each type of temporary difference and carryforward that gives rise to a significant portion of deferred tax liabilities and deferred tax assets, utilization of a tax carryback, and tax uncertainties information. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SX 210.4-08.(h)) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=26873400&loc=d3e23780-122690 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6907707&loc=d3e32559-109319 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 15 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6907707&loc=d3e32718-109319 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 9 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6907707&loc=d3e32639-109319 Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6907707&loc=d3e32537-109319 + Details
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