Earnings before income taxes consisted of the following components for the fiscal years ended September 30,

	2018		2019		2020
	(Amounts in thousands)
Earnings before income taxes
United States	$	53,280	$	46,986	$	94,854
Other		—		1,967		2,586
Total	$	53,280	$	48,953	$	97,440

The components of our provision from income taxes consisted of the following for the fiscal years ended September 30,

	2018		2019		2020
	(Amounts in thousands)
Current provision:
Federal	$	8,055	$	7,933	$	17,654
Foreign		—		516		654
State		195		135		1,365
Total current provision	$	8,250	$	8,584	$	19,673
Deferred provision:
Federal		4,205		2,285		2,262
Foreign		—		—		—
State		1,513		2,099		871
Total deferred provision		5,718		4,384		3,133
Total income tax provision	$	13,968	$	12,968	$	22,806

On December 22, 2017, the Tax Act was enacted which, among a number of its provisions, lowered the U.S. corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, effective January 1, 2018. The Company’s blended statutory tax rate for fiscal year 2018 was approximately 24.5% as a result of the change in statutory rates. For fiscal year 2018, we recorded a non-cash adjustment to income tax expense of $805,000 for the remeasurement of deferred taxes on the enactment date.

Below is a reconciliation of the statutory federal income tax rate to our effective tax rate for the fiscal years ended September 30,

	2018			2019			2020
Federal tax provision		24.5	%		21.0	%		21.0	%
State taxes, net of federal effect		4.1	%		4.1	%		3.1	%
Stock based compensation		(2.0	)%		—			(0.5	)%
Valuation allowance		(0.3	)%		(0.1	)%		(0.2	)%
Foreign rate differential		—			0.2	%		0.1	%
Effect of Federal Tax Reform		1.5	%		—			—
Other		(1.6	)%		1.3	%		(0.1	)%
Effective tax rate		26.2	%		26.5	%		23.4	%

Deferred income taxes reflect the impact of temporary differences between the amount of assets and liabilities recognized for financial reporting purposes and such amounts recognized for income tax purposes. The tax effects of these temporary differences representing the components of deferred tax assets as of September 30,

	2019			2020
	(Amounts in thousands)
Deferred tax assets:
Inventories	$	774		$	808
Operating lease right-of-use assets		-		$	9,926
Accrued expenses		492			640
Stock based compensation		2,388			2,170
Tax loss carryforwards		2,316			810
Other		562			268
Valuation allowance		(164	)		-
Total long-term deferred tax assets		6,368			14,622
Deferred tax liabilities:
Depreciation and amortization		(7,510	)		(9,095	)
Operating lease liabilities		-			(10,036	)
Total long-term deferred tax liabilities	$	(7,510	)	$	(19,131	)
Net deferred tax liabilities	$	(1,142	)	$	(4,509	)

Pursuant to ASC 740, we must consider all positive and negative evidence regarding the realization of deferred tax assets. ASC 740 provides four possible sources of taxable income to realize deferred tax assets: 1) taxable income in prior carryback years, 2) reversals of existing deferred tax liabilities, 3) tax planning strategies and 4) projected future taxable income. As of September 30, 2020, we have no available taxable income in prior carryback years, limited reversals of existing deferred tax liabilities or prudent and feasible tax planning strategies. Therefore, the recoverability of our deferred tax assets is dependent upon generating future taxable income.

The Company included a $164,000 reversal of its outstanding valuation allowance due to the likelihood that the Company would use these deferred tax assets prior to the statute of limitations. The valuation allowance related to net operating loss (NOL) carryforwards in jurisdictions where the Company has expanded operations.

As of September 30, 2017, we no longer had federal NOL carryforwards for federal income tax purposes. As of September 30, 2020, the Company has state NOL carryforwards of approximately $15.4 million for state income tax purposes, which resulted in a deferred tax asset of $0.8 million, and expire at various dates from 2029 through 2032.

Significant judgment is required in evaluating our uncertain tax positions. Although we believe our tax return positions are sustainable, we recognize tax benefits from uncertain tax positions in the financial statements only when it is more likely than not that the positions will not be sustained upon examination, including resolution of any related appeals or litigation processes, based on the technical merits and a consideration of the relevant taxing authority’s administrative practices and precedents. To the extent that the final tax outcome of these matters is different than the amounts recorded, such differences will impact the provision for income taxes

in the period in which such determination is made. The provision for income taxes includes the impact of reserve provisions and changes to reserves that are considered appropriate, as well as the related net interest and penalties.

We are subject to tax by both federal and state taxing authorities. Until the respective statutes of limitations expire, we are subject to income tax audits in the jurisdictions in which we operate. We are no longer subject to U.S. federal tax assessments for fiscal years prior to 2015, we are not subject to assessments prior to the 2014 fiscal year for the majority of the State jurisdictions and we are not subject to assessments prior to the 2014 calendar year for the majority of the foreign jurisdictions.