The accompanying financial statements are reported on a fiscal year, however, the Company and its corporate subsidiaries file Federal and State income tax returns on a calendar year.

The current and deferred income tax expense (benefit) for the three and six months ended March 31, 2020, and March 31, 2019 are as follows:

	Three Months Ended						Six Months Ended
	March 31,						March 31,
(in thousands)	2020			2019			2020		2019
Income before income taxes	$	83,108		$	101,564		$	122,645	$	104,852
Current income tax expense		25,814			37,958			36,260		39,547
Deferred income tax expense (benefit)		(1,114	)		(8,719	)		222		(9,335	)
Total income tax expense	$	24,700		$	29,239		$	36,482	$	30,212

Our continuing practice is to recognize interest and penalties related to income tax matters as a component of income tax expense. We file U.S. Federal income tax returns and various state and local returns. A number of years may elapse before an uncertain tax position is audited and finally resolved. For our Federal income tax returns we have four tax years subject to examination. In our major state tax jurisdictions of New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, we have four years that are subject to examination. In the state tax jurisdiction of New Jersey we have five tax years that are subject to examination. While it is often difficult to predict the final outcome or the timing of resolution of any particular uncertain tax position, based on our assessment of many factors, including past experience and interpretation of tax law, we believe that our provision for income taxes reflect the most probable outcome. This assessment relies on estimates and assumptions and may involve a series of complex judgments about future events.