12.	INCOME TAXES

The items comprising income tax expense are as follows (dollars in thousands):

	Year Ended December 31,
	2016			2015			2014
Provision for current income taxes
Federal	$	12,207		$	11,308		$	1,330
State		3,044			2,292			388
Total provision for current income taxes		15,251			13,600			1,718
Provision (benefit) for deferred income taxes, net
Federal		(1,476	)		(1,109	)		2,114
State		(372	)		89			161
Total provision (benefit) for deferred income taxes, net		(1,848	)		(1,020	)		2,275
Total provision for income taxes	$	13,403		$	12,580		$	3,993

The following schedule reconciles the statutory Federal tax rate to the effective income tax rate:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2016			2015			2014
Federal statutory tax rate		35	%		35	%		34	%
Increase(decrease) resulting from:
State income taxes, net of Federal income tax benefit		4	%		4	%		4	%
Nondeductible expenses		1	%		3	%		4	%
Research credit, Federal benefit		(2	%)		(1	%)		0	%
Section 199 - Qualified production activities		(2	%)		(3	%)		0	%
Stock-based compensation		(12	%)		0	%		0	%
Other		(1	%)		0	%		(1	%)
Effective income tax rate		23	%		38	%		41	%

Our effective income tax rate was 23% and 38% for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. The lower effective income tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2016 primarily resulted from the recognition of excess tax benefits from share-based payment awards due to the Company’s adoption of ASU 2016-09. See Note 2 under Adoption of New Pronouncements for further discussion of ASU 2016-09.

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. The significant components of our deferred tax assets and liabilities were as follows (dollars in thousands):

	Year Ended December 31,
	2016			2015
Deferred income tax assets (liabilities):
Stock-based compensation	$	2,658		$	1,035
Investment in Paycom Payroll Holdings, LLC		(1,487	)		(1,676	)
Net operating losses		36			—
Noncurrent deferred income tax assets (liabilities), net	$	1,207		$	(641	)

In November 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-17 which we elected to early adopt on a retrospective basis. Previous to the issuance of ASU 2015-17, U.S. GAAP required an entity to separate deferred income tax assets and liabilities into current and noncurrent amounts. To simplify the presentation of deferred income taxes, this guidance requires that deferred tax assets and liabilities be classified as noncurrent.

At December 31, 2016, we had net operating loss carryforwards for state income tax purposes of approximately $36 thousand which are available to offset future state taxable income that begin expiring in 2030.

At December 31, 2016 and 2015, we had no material unrecognized tax benefits related to uncertain tax positions.

We file income tax returns with the United States federal government and various state jurisdictions. Our 2007 through 2016 U.S. federal and state income tax returns remain open to examination by tax authorities, due to the usage of net operating loss carryovers.