e tax expense is as follows:



	For the years ended December 31,
	2019		2018
Current expense	$	1,863	$	378
Deferred expense	2,362		6,328
Total income tax expense	$	4,225	$	6,706

A reconciliation of the provision for income taxes computed at the statutory federal corporate tax rate of 21% for 2019 and 2018, to the income tax expense in the consolidated statements of operations follows:



	For the years ended December 31,
	2019			2018
Expense computed at the statutory federal tax rate	$	3,339		$	5,470
State taxes and other, net	915			1,564
Bank-owned life insurance	(29		)	(328		)
	$	4,225		$	6,706
Effective income tax rate	26.57		%	25.74		%

Retained earnings at December 31, 2019 and 2018 include $14.9 million for which no deferred federal income tax liability has been recorded. This amount represents an allocation of income to bad debt deductions for tax purposes alone.

The net deferred tax asset is as follows:



	December 31,
	2019			2018
Gross deferred tax assets
Allowance for loan losses	$	2,043		$	2,279
Alternative minimum tax, general business credit and net operating loss carryforwards	4,452			6,669
Lease liability	1,565			—
Tax deductible goodwill and core deposit intangible	314			561
Other	741			1,256
	9,115			10,765
Gross deferred tax liabilities
Net deferred loan origination costs	(1,013		)	(1,186		)
Purchase accounting adjustments	(1,623		)	(1,673		)
Right of use asset	(1,565		)	—
Other	(958		)	(649		)
Unrealized gain on securities	(83		)	(1,022		)
	(5,242		)	(4,530		)
	$	3,873		$	6,235

As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, the Company’s net deferred tax asset (“DTA”) was $3.9 million and $6.2 million, respectively.

A DTA valuation allowance is required under ASC 740 when the realization of a DTA is assessed and the assessment indicates that it is “more likely than not” (i.e., more than 50% likely) that all or a portion of the DTA will not be realized. All available evidence, both positive and negative must be considered to determine whether, based on the weight of that evidence, a valuation allowance against the net DTA is required. Objectively verifiable evidence is assigned greater weight than evidence that is not objectively verifiable. The valuation allowance is analyzed quarterly for changes affecting the DTA.

The Company’s ability to realize the DTA is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which the tax attributes underlying the DTA become deductible. The amount of the DTA that will ultimately be realized will be impacted by the Company’s future taxable income, any changes to the many variables that could impact future taxable income and the then applicable corporate tax rate. As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, management determined that it is more likely than not that the Company will be able to utilize the entire DTA.

At December 31, 2019, the Company had a federal net operating loss carryforward of $7.3 million relating to its acquisition of Downers Grove National Bank, which is subject to utilization limitations under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code, and will begin to expire in 2030, and $225,000 of alternative minimum tax credit carryforward that does not expire and is subject to utilization limitations under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code. At December 31, 2019, the Company had a state net operating loss carryforward for the State of Illinois of $50.1 million, which will begin to expire in 2023.

Unrecognized Tax Benefits

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



	December 31,
	2019			2018
Beginning of year	$	198		$	129
Additions based on tax positions related to the current year	62			85
Additions for tax positions of prior years	—			4
Reductions due to the statute of limitations and reductions for tax positions of prior years	(16		)	(20		)
End of year	$	244		$	198

The Company does not expect the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits to significantly increase or decrease in the next twelve months. The Company recognizes interest and/or penalties related to income tax matters in income tax expense. At December 31, 2019 and 2018, the Company has immaterial amounts accrued for potential interest and penalties.

The Company and its subsidiary are subject to U.S. federal income tax as well as income tax of the various states where the Company does business. The Company is no longer subject to examination by the federal taxing authorities for years before 2016 and the Illinois taxing authorities for years before 2016.