Income Taxes	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2019
Income Taxes
Income Taxes	Note 26 – Income taxes The Company is a REIT pursuant to IRC Section 856. Our qualification as a REIT depends on our ability to meet various requirements imposed by the Internal Revenue Code, which relate to our organizational structure, diversity of stock ownership and certain requirements with regard to the nature of our assets and the sources of our income. As a REIT, we generally must distribute annually at least 90% of our net taxable income, subject to certain adjustments and excluding any net capital gain, in order for U.S. federal income tax not to apply to our earnings that we distribute. To the extent that we satisfy this distribution requirement, but distribute less than 100% of our net taxable income, we will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on our undistributed taxable income. In addition, we will be subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax if the actual amount that we pay out to our stockholders in a calendar year is less than a minimum amount specified under U.S. federal tax laws. Even if we qualify as a REIT, we may be subject to certain U.S. federal income and excise taxes and state and local taxes on our income and assets. If we fail to maintain our qualification as a REIT for any taxable year, we may be subject to material penalties as well as federal, state and local income tax on our taxable income at regular corporate rates and we would not be able to qualify as a REIT for the subsequent four taxable years. As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, we are in compliance with all REIT requirements. Certain of our subsidiaries have elected to be treated as taxable REIT subsidiaries (“TRSs”). TRSs permit us to participate in certain activities from which REITs are generally precluded, as long as these activities meet specific criteria, are conducted within the parameters of certain limitations established by the Internal Revenue Code, and are conducted in entities which elect to be treated as taxable subsidiaries under the Internal Revenue Code. To the extent these criteria are met, we will continue to maintain our qualification as a REIT. The accompanying unaudited interim consolidated financial statements include an interim tax provision for our TRS’ for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Our TRSs engage in various real estate related operations, including originating and securitizing commercial and residential mortgage loans, and investments in real property. The majority of our TRSs are held within the SBC Originations, SBA Originations, Acquisitions and Servicing, and Residential Mortgage Banking segments. Our TRSs are not consolidated for federal income tax purposes, but are instead taxed as corporations. For financial reporting purposes, a provision for current and deferred income taxes is established for the portion of earnings recognized by us with respect to our interest in TRSs. During the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, we recorded an income tax benefit of $2.6 million and income tax expense $0.9 million, respectively. During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, we recorded an income tax benefit of $8.6 million and an income tax expense of $4.1 million, respectively. The income tax expense for the above periods primarily related to activities of our taxable REIT subsidiaries and various state and local taxes. There were no material changes to uncertain tax positions or valuation allowance assessments during the quarter.

Note 26 – Income taxes

The Company is a REIT pursuant to IRC Section 856. Our qualification as a REIT depends on our ability to meet various requirements imposed by the Internal Revenue Code, which relate to our organizational structure, diversity of stock ownership and certain requirements with regard to the nature of our assets and the sources of our income. As a REIT, we generally must distribute annually at least 90% of our net taxable income, subject to certain adjustments and excluding any net capital gain, in order for U.S. federal income tax not to apply to our earnings that we distribute. To the extent that we satisfy this distribution requirement, but distribute less than 100% of our net taxable income, we will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on our undistributed taxable income. In addition, we will be subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax if the actual amount that we pay out to our stockholders in a calendar year is less than a minimum amount specified under U.S. federal tax laws. Even if we qualify as a REIT, we may be subject to certain U.S. federal income and excise taxes and state and local taxes on our income and assets. If we fail to maintain our qualification as a REIT for any taxable year, we may be subject to material penalties as well as federal, state and local income tax on our taxable income at regular corporate rates and we would not be able to qualify as a REIT for the subsequent four taxable years. As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, we are in compliance with all REIT requirements.

Certain of our subsidiaries have elected to be treated as taxable REIT subsidiaries (“TRSs”). TRSs permit us to participate in certain activities from which REITs are generally precluded, as long as these activities meet specific criteria, are conducted within the parameters of certain limitations established by the Internal Revenue Code, and are conducted in entities which elect to be treated as taxable subsidiaries under the Internal Revenue Code. To the extent these criteria are met, we will continue to maintain our qualification as a REIT. The accompanying unaudited interim consolidated financial statements include an interim tax provision for our TRS’ for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Our TRSs engage in various real estate related operations, including originating and securitizing commercial and residential mortgage loans, and investments in real property. The majority of our TRSs are held within the SBC Originations, SBA Originations, Acquisitions and Servicing, and Residential Mortgage Banking segments. Our TRSs are not consolidated for federal income tax purposes, but are instead taxed as corporations. For financial reporting purposes, a provision for current and deferred income taxes is established for the portion of earnings recognized by us with respect to our interest in TRSs.

During the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, we recorded an income tax benefit of $2.6 million and income tax expense $0.9 million, respectively. During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, we recorded an income tax benefit of $8.6 million and an income tax expense of $4.1 million, respectively. The income tax expense for the above periods primarily related to activities of our taxable REIT subsidiaries and various state and local taxes. There were no material changes to uncertain tax positions or valuation allowance assessments during the quarter.