Income Taxes

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

10. Income Taxes

The income tax provision consists of the following (in thousands):

	2023			2022		2021
Current:
U.S. federal	$	82,802		$	68,934	$	62,222
State		18,498			20,058		12,997
Total current income tax provision		101,300			88,992		75,219
Deferred:
U.S. federal		10,345			21,440		3,915
State		(275	)		194		404
Total deferred income tax provision		10,070			21,634		4,319
Total income tax provision	$	111,370		$	110,626	$	79,538

A reconciliation between income taxes at the federal statutory rate (21 percent) and the actual income tax provision is as follows (in thousands):

	2023			2022			2021
Provision at federal statutory rate	$	97,908		$	98,290		$	69,856
State income taxes, net of federal benefit		15,580			16,274			11,435
Tax credits		(1,181	)		(1,355	)		(1,754	)
Excess tax benefit on stock compensation		(1,004	)		(1,578	)		(793	)
Other, net		67			(1,005	)		794
Total provision	$	111,370		$	110,626		$	79,538

Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes. Deferred tax (liabilities) assets are comprised of the following at December 31 (in thousands):

	2023			2022
Depreciation	$	(196,494	)	$	(183,276	)
Leases		(29,361	)		(30,886	)
Other		(6,022	)		(5,471	)
Gross deferred tax liabilities		(231,877	)		(219,633	)
Allowance for credit losses		1,097			1,435
Equity-based compensation		4,834			4,089
Employee benefits		12,014			9,988
Leases		30,227			30,578
Claims and insurance		21,597			22,137
Other		6,982			6,377
Gross deferred tax assets		76,751			74,604
Valuation Allowance		(715	)		(742	)
Net deferred tax assets		76,036			73,862
Net deferred tax liability	$	(155,841	)	$	(145,771	)

The Company and its subsidiaries file income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and various state jurisdictions. For the U.S. federal jurisdiction, tax years 2020-2023 remain open to examination. The expiration of the statute of limitations related to the various state income tax returns that the Company files varies by state. In general, tax years 2014-2023 remain open to examination by the various state and local jurisdictions.

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending total amounts of gross unrecognized tax benefits is as follows (in thousands):

	2023			2022
Gross unrecognized tax benefits at beginning of year	$	3,867		$	1,370
Gross increases in tax positions for prior years		2			1,779
Gross increases in tax positions for current year		1,077			1,005
Settlements		—			—
Lapse of statute of limitations		(254	)		(287	)
Gross unrecognized tax benefits at end of year	$	4,692		$	3,867

The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions as a component of income tax expense. The total amount of unrecognized tax benefits, which is recorded within claims, insurance and other liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets, that would affect the Company’s effective tax rate if recognized is $4.7 million and $3.9 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The Company paid cash for income taxes of $72.8 million, $115.3 million, and $81.6 million in 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

The Company does not anticipate total unrecognized tax benefits will significantly change during the next twelve months due to the settlements of audits and the expiration of statutes of limitations.