INCOME TAXES

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

INCOME TAXES

INCOME TAXES

In general, the Company is required to use an estimated annual effective tax rate ("AETR") to measure the income tax expense or benefit recognized on a year to date basis in an interim period. In addition, certain items included in income tax expense as well as the tax impact of certain items included in pretax income must be treated as discrete items. The income tax expense or benefit associated with these discrete items is fully recognized in the interim period in which the items occur.

For the three and six months ended June 30, 2019, the Company recorded income tax expense of $41,160 and $18,574 on pre-tax income of $127,570 and $79,786, respectively, resulting in an effective tax rate of 32% and 23%, respectively, which are higher than the U.S. federal statutory tax rate. The primary differences between the effective tax rate and the statutory tax rate are due to a revaluation of state deferred taxes primarily due to certain changes to the state tax rates used to measure the Company’s deferred tax liabilities and certain non-deductible expenses.

The Company recorded an income tax benefit of $5,590 and $66,293 for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, reflecting an effective tax rate of approximately 5% and 23%, respectively. The tax benefit was calculated based upon the actual effective tax rate for the year-to-date period. The Company determined this to represent the best estimate of the annual effective tax rate in light of the magnitude of the expected income and the significant permanent differences.