INCOME TAXES

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

INCOME TAXES

INCOME TAXES

For the three-month period ended March 31, 2022, the Company calculated its effective tax rate estimating its annual effective tax rate as opposed to the quarter ended March 31, 2021, whereby the Company calculated its effective tax rate based on year-to-date results. The Company’s effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 was 28.9% and 4.5%, respectively, including the impact of discrete items. Excluding discrete items, the Company's effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 was 30.0% and 4.5%, respectively. The effective tax rate for the first quarter of 2022 was primarily impacted by federal and state taxes. Income tax expense for the three months ended March 31, 2021 was primarily impacted by international and state taxes as a result of the Company's valuation allowance on substantially all of its domestic deferred tax assets.

During the fourth quarter of 2021, the Company concluded that it was more likely than not that a benefit from a substantial portion of its United States federal and state deferred tax assets would be realized and released the majority of its valuation allowance. As of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, the Company had an immaterial amount of valuation allowance on its deferred tax assets related to state net operating losses not expected to be realized before expiration.

As of March 31, 2022, the Company had approximately $9.2 million of unrecognized tax benefits included in other long-term liabilities, $9.4 million, net of deferred taxes, which would impact the effective tax rate if recognized. During the three months ended March 31, 2022, the Company had net increases of $0.3 million to its current year unrecognized tax benefits related to federal and state tax provisions.

The tax years 2012 through 2021 remain open to examination by certain taxing jurisdictions to which the Company is subject to tax, other than certain states in which the statute of limitations has been extended.