Income Taxes

The Company’s loss before income taxes was entirely generated from its U.S. operations. The current and deferred expense is as follows:



	Year Ended December 31,
	2019			2018
Current provision:
Federal	$	—		$	—
State	28			—
Total current provision	28			—
Deferred (benefit) provision:
Federal	(10,299		)	44
State	(4,756		)	21
Total deferred (benefit) provision	(15,055		)	65
Total (benefit) provision for income taxes	$	(15,027	)	$	65

As of December 31, 2019, the Company has federal net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforwards of $179,589, which will begin to expire in 2034. The federal NOLs generated in 2018 and in the subsequent years do not expire. As of December 31, 2019, the Company has state NOL carryforwards of $94,118, which will begin to expire in 2038. As of December 31, 2019, the Company has federal research and development (“R&D”) credit carryforwards of $1,377, which will begin to expire in 2034. The Company also has California R&D credit carryforwards of $1,383, which has an indefinite carryforward period.

The NOL and the R&D credit carryforwards generated by the Company in tax years ended February 11, 2018 and prior have been included in the consolidated and unitary income tax returns of Alphaeon. After the Company left the Alphaeon consolidated and unitary income tax group on February 11, 2018, the Company files its own standalone income tax returns. Deferred tax assets in the accompanying financial statements reflect the Company's standalone tax attributes that are reportable on its own income tax returns.

In general, if a company experiences a greater than 50 percentage point aggregate change in ownership of certain significant stockholders over a three-year period, utilization of its pre-change NOL carryforwards and R&D credit carryforwards is subject to an annual limitation under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and similar state laws. The annual limitation generally is determined by multiplying the value of the Company’s stock at the time of such ownership change, subject to certain adjustments, by the applicable long-term tax-exempt rate. The annual limitations may result in the expiration of NOL and R&D credit carryforwards before utilization and may be material. The Company has started but has not completed an analysis to determine whether its NOL and R&D credits generated through December 31, 2019 are likely to be limited by Section 382 and 383. The Company anticipates that an ownership change as defined under Section 382 may have occurred and that the resulting limitation would significantly reduce the Company’s ability to utilize its NOL and R&D credit carryforwards before they expire. Additionally, future ownership changes under Section 382 and 383 may also limit the Company's ability to fully utilize any remaining tax benefits. The Company’s net deferred income tax assets have been offset by a valuation allowance. Therefore, any resulting reduction to the Company’s NOL and R&D credit carryforwards once the analysis is complete will be offset by a corresponding reduction of the valuation allowance and there would be no impact on the Company’s balance sheet, statement of operations, or cash flows.

The components of deferred tax assets and liabilities were as follows:



	As of December 31,
	2019			2018
Deferred income tax assets:
Net operating losses	$	42,756		$	27,929
Stock compensation	2,430			1,455
Other deferred assets	2,470			2,176
Accrued compensation	1,962			608
Operating lease liabilities	1,274			—
Contingent obligation - imputed interest	199			101
Other, net	12			11
Valuation allowance	(36,972		)	(32,280		)
Total deferred income tax assets	14,131			—
Deferred income tax liabilities:
Intangible amortization	(12,970		)	(15,055		)
Operating lease right-of-use assets	(1,017		)	—
Fixed asset depreciation	(144		)	—
Total deferred income tax liabilities	(14,131		)	(15,055		)
Net deferred income taxes	$	—		$	(15,055	)

Upon FDA approval of Jeuveau^® in February 2019, the Company’s IPR&D intangible asset was reclassified to a definite-lived distribution right intangible asset. As a result, management determined that it was more likely than not that certain deferred tax assets became realizable due to the future reversals of the deferred tax liability associated with such intangible asset. Accordingly, the Company released $15,055 of its valuation allowance for the year ended December 31, 2019. The total valuation allowance balance did not significantly change in 2019 due to the increase related to the current year operating loss as offset by the release as discussed above.

A reconciliation of the difference between the provision (benefit) for income taxes and income taxes at the statutory U.S. federal income tax rate is as follows:



	As of December 31,
	2019			2018
Income tax at statutory rate	$	(22,063	)	$	(9,828	)
State income taxes, net of Federal benefit	(3,905		)	(3,148		)
California NOL write-off	5,174			—
Revaluation of contingent royalty obligation	1,040			2,938
Meals and entertainment	1,002			17
Change in state tax rate	(1,371		)	—
Stock compensation	521			474
Research and development tax credit	(294		)	(294		)
Promissory note - debt discount	128			105
Other, net	50			—
Valuation allowance	4,691			9,801
Income tax provision (benefit)	$	(15,027	)	$	65

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits is as follows:



	As of December 31,
	2019		2018
Beginning balance	$	2,435	$	2,109
Increases to current year tax positions	326		326
Ending balance	$	2,761	$	2,435

The Company has considered the amounts and probabilities of the outcomes that can be realized upon ultimate settlement with the tax authorities and determined unrecognized tax benefits primarily related to credits should be established as noted in the summary rollforward above. The Company’s effective income tax rate would not be impacted if the unrecognized tax benefits are recognized. Additional amounts in the summary rollforward could impact the Company’s effective tax rate if it did not maintain a full valuation allowance on its net deferred tax assets. The Company does not expect its unrecognized tax benefits to change significantly over the next 12 months.

The Company’s policy is to recognize interest expense and penalties related to income tax matters as a component of income tax expense. There were no accrued interest and penalties associated with uncertain tax positions as of December 31, 2019 and 2018. The Company’s tax returns for all years since inception are open for audit.