Income Taxes

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

10. Income Taxes

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

	2024		2023			2022
Current:
U.S. federal	$	37,563	$	82,802		$	68,934
State		13,159		18,498			20,058
Total current income tax provision		50,722		101,300			88,992
Deferred:
U.S. federal		61,583		10,345			21,440
State		1,638		(275	)		194
Total deferred income tax provision		63,221		10,070			21,634
Total income tax provision	$	113,943	$	111,370		$	110,626

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

	2024			2023			2022
Provision at federal statutory rate	$	99,962		$	97,908		$	98,290
State income taxes, net of federal benefit		16,606			15,580			16,274
Tax credits		(1,095	)		(1,181	)		(1,355	)
Excess tax benefit on stock compensation		(923	)		(1,004	)		(1,578	)
Other, net		(606	)		67			(1,005	)
Total provision	$	113,943		$	111,370		$	110,626

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):

	2024			2023
Depreciation	$	(258,528	)	$	(196,494	)
Leases		(31,473	)		(29,361	)
Other		(6,855	)		(6,022	)
Gross deferred tax liabilities		(296,856	)		(231,877	)
Allowance for credit losses		1,047			1,097
Equity-based compensation		5,531			4,834
Employee benefits		7,958			12,014
Leases		30,815			30,227
Claims and insurance		22,564			21,597
Other		10,032			6,982
Gross deferred tax assets		77,947			76,751
Valuation Allowance		(153	)		(715	)
Net deferred tax assets		77,794			76,036
Net deferred tax liability	$	(219,062	)	$	(155,841	)

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 2021-2024 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 2015-2024 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):

	2024			2023
Gross unrecognized tax benefits at beginning of year	$	4,692		$	3,867
Gross (decreases) increases in tax positions for prior years		(1	)		2
Gross increases in tax positions for current year		764			1,077
Settlements		(731	)		—
Lapse of statute of limitations		(1,518	)		(254	)
Gross unrecognized tax benefits at end of year	$	3,206		$	4,692

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 $3.2 million and $4.7 million as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The Company paid cash for income taxes of $101.2 million, $72.8 million, and $115.3 million in 2024, 2023 and 2022, 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.