Income Taxes

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2018

For each interim reporting period, the Company estimates the effective tax rate expected for the full fiscal year and uses that estimated rate in providing for income taxes on a current year-to-date basis. The provision for income taxes consisted of the following components (in thousands):


	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2018		2017		2018		2017
Current
Federal	$	(33)	$	(8,460)	$	(33)	$	(8,460)
State	3		3		(39)		(36)
Total provision	$	(30)	$	(8,457)	$	(72)	$	(8,496)

Deferred income taxes are provided to reflect the future tax consequences of temporary differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and their reported amounts in the financial statements. The Company’s deferred tax assets have been reduced by a valuation allowance due to a determination that it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred assets will not be realized based on the weight of all available evidence. The Company continues to closely monitor and weigh all available evidence, including both positive and negative, in making its determination whether to maintain a valuation allowance. As a result of the significant weight placed on the Company's cumulative negative earnings position, the Company continued to maintain a full valuation allowance against its net deferred tax asset at September 30, 2018. Thus, the Company’s effective tax rate and expense for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2018 continue to be low.

The “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” (the “TCJA”) enacted in December 2017 includes significant changes to the taxation of business entities, most of which are effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017. These changes include, among others, a permanent reduction to the corporate income tax rate from a maximum 35% to a flat 21% rate, expansion of expensing capital expenditures for a period of time, new limitations on the utilization of net operating losses (“NOLs”), and limitations on the deduction of interest expense and executive compensation. We continue to evaluate the impact of the TCJA as new guidance and accounting interpretations become available and while adjustments to certain deferred tax assets may occur in 2018, we do not expect a material adjustment to the provisional amounts recorded for the year ended December 31, 2017 or the nine-month period ended September 30, 2018.

Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) Section 382 addresses company ownership changes and specifically limits the utilization of certain deductions and other tax attributes on an annual basis following an ownership change. As a result of the Chapter 11 reorganization and related transactions, the Company experienced an ownership change within the meaning of IRC Section 382 on October 4, 2016 that subjected certain of the Company’s tax attributes, including $1.9 billion of federal NOL carryforwards, to the IRC Section 382 limitation. This limitation is expected to result in $1.6 billion of the $1.9 billion of federal NOL carryforwards expiring unused. As such, the Company’s deferred tax asset associated with NOLs and corresponding valuation allowance were reduced in the period ended December 31, 2017. The limitation did not result in a current tax liability for the tax year ended December 31, 2017 or the nine-month period ended September 30, 2018. Since the October 4, 2016 ownership change the Company has generated additional NOLs that are not currently subject to an IRC Section 382 limitation. See "Note 19 - Income Taxes" in the 2017 Form 10-K for additional discussion with respect to the impact of income tax elections associated with the Chapter 11 reorganization.

The Company’s only taxing jurisdiction is the United States (federal and state). The Company’s tax years 2015 to present remain open for federal examination. Additionally, tax years 2005 through 2014 remain subject to examination for the purpose of determining the amount of remaining federal NOL and other carryforwards. The number of years open for state tax audits varies, depending on the state, but are generally from three to five years.