INCOME TAXES (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Components of Income Tax Expense

Income tax expense is comprised of the following components (in thousands):

	For the Years Ended December 31,
	2017			2016			2015
Current income tax expense
Federal	$	10,202		$	10,181		$	2,519
State		2,788			1,983			136
		12,990			12,164			2,655
Deferred income tax expense (benefit)
Federal		1,088			(3,400	)		5,589
State		(167	)		(511	)		117
		921			(3,911	)		5,706
Income tax expense	$	13,911		$	8,253		$	8,361

Components of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

Significant components of CoreCivic's deferred tax assets and liabilities as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, are as follows (in thousands):

	December 31,
	2017			2016
Noncurrent deferred tax assets:
Asset reserves and liabilities not yet deductible for tax	$	19,045		$	29,198
Tax over book basis of certain assets		40			866
Net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards		5,040			5,487
Intangible contract value		—			2,570
Other		172			346
Total noncurrent deferred tax assets		24,297			38,467
Less valuation allowance		(3,308	)		(3,436	)
Total noncurrent deferred tax assets		20,989			35,031
Noncurrent deferred tax liabilities:
Book over tax basis of certain assets		(5,959	)		(9,386	)
Intangible lease value		—			(8,368	)
Other		(2,216	)		(3,542	)
Total noncurrent deferred tax liabilities		(8,175	)		(21,296	)
Net total noncurrent deferred tax assets	$	12,814		$	13,735

Reconciliation of Income Tax Provision at Statutory Income Tax Rate and Effective Tax Rate

A reconciliation of the income tax provision at the statutory income tax rate and the effective tax rate as a percentage of income from continuing operations before income taxes for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015 is as follows:

	2017			2016			2015
Statutory federal rate		35.0	%		35.0	%		35.0	%
Dividends paid deduction		(31.3	)		(32.5	)		(31.9	)
State taxes, net of federal tax benefit		1.2			1.1			0.9
Permanent differences		0.6			0.3			0.4
Charges associated with adoption of tax reform		2.4			—			—
Tax benefit of equity-based compensation		(0.5	)		—			—
Other items, net		(0.2	)		(0.3	)		(0.8	)
		7.2	%		3.6	%		3.6	%