Income Taxes

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2025

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

Note 9—Income Taxes

The following table discloses significant components of income taxes for each year presented:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2025		2024		2023
Income tax expense (benefit) from operations:
Current income tax expense (benefit)—federal	$	196,988	$	217,929	$	145,700
Current income tax expense (benefit)—state	219		206		180
Deferred income tax expense (benefit)—federal	77,530		37,740		77,631
Provision for income tax expense (benefit)	274,737		255,875		223,511
Shareholders’ equity:
Other comprehensive income (loss)	68,656		197,427		4,762
	$	343,393	$	453,302	$	228,273

In each of the years 2023 through 2025, deferred income tax expense (benefit) was incurred because of certain differences between net income before income tax expense (benefit) as reported on the Consolidated Statements of Operations and taxable income as reported on Globe Life's income tax returns. As explained in Note 1—Significant Accounting Policies, these differences caused the consolidated financial statement book values of some assets and liabilities to be different from their respective tax bases.

The effective income tax rate differed from the expected U.S. federal statutory rate of 21.0% as shown below:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2025		%	2024		%	2023		%
U.S. federal statutory tax rate	$	301,555	21.0	$	278,594	21.0	$	250,796	21.0
State and local income taxes, net of federal income tax effect(1)	173		—	163		—	142		—
Tax credits:
LIH credits	(11,906)		(0.8)	(9,700)		(0.7)	(14,291)		(1.2)
Purchased solar credits	(4,988)		(0.3)	(3,000)		(0.2)	—		—
Increasing research activities credit	(1,400)		(0.1)	(2,000)		(0.2)	—		—
Nontaxable or nondeductible items:
Share-based awards	377		—	1,341		0.1	(4,724)		(0.4)
Tax exempt investment income	(9,522)		(0.7)	(9,644)		(0.7)	(9,644)		(0.8)
Other adjustments	448		—	121		—	1,232		0.1
Effective tax rate	$	274,737	19.1	$	255,875	19.3	$	223,511	18.7

(1)State taxes in Texas and California made up the majority (greater than 50 percent) of the tax effect in this category.

The amount of income taxes paid (net of refunds received) disaggregated by federal (national), state and foreign taxes:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2025		2024		2023
Federal	$	140,527	$	128,005	$	120,658
State	173		189		144
Foreign	226		201		232
Total income taxes paid (received)	$	140,926	$	128,395	$	121,034

The amount of income taxes paid (net of refunds received) disaggregated by individual jurisdiction in which income taxes paid (net of refunds received) is equal to or greater than 5 percent of total income taxes paid (net of refunds received):

	Year Ended December 31,
	2025		%	2024		%	2023		%
Federal	$	140,527	99.7	$	128,005	99.7	$	120,658	99.7
Other	399		0.3	390		0.3	376		0.3
Total	$	140,926	100.0	$	128,395	100.0	$	121,034	100.0

Domestic income from continuing operations before income tax expense was $1.4 billion, $1.3 billion, and $1.2 billion for the year ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively. The Company had no income from foreign operations.

	Year Ended December 31,
	2025		2024		2023
Income tax expense (or benefit) from continuing operations:
Federal	$	274,518	$	255,669	$	223,331
State	219		206		180
Total	$	274,737	$	255,875	$	223,511

The tax effects of temporary differences that gave rise to significant portions of the deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities are presented below:

	December 31,
	2025		2024
Deferred tax assets:
Unrealized losses	$	460,158	$	532,756
Carryover of tax losses	15,052		10,342
Total gross deferred tax assets	475,210		543,098
Less valuation allowance	(2,632)		(3,383)
Net deferred tax assets	472,578		539,715
Deferred tax liabilities:
Employee and agent compensation	115,604		104,385
Deferred acquisition costs	961,915		961,406
Future policy benefits, unearned and advance premiums, and policy claims	254,277		228,117
Other liabilities	75,843		24,432
Total gross deferred tax liabilities	1,407,639		1,318,340
Net deferred tax liability	$	935,061	$	778,625

Bermuda Corporate Income Tax Act: The Bermuda Corporate Income Tax Act (the "Act") was enacted on December 27, 2023, and included a new corporate income tax ("CIT"). The CIT is in effect for years beginning after January 1, 2025. The CIT is applicable to the Company; however, due to having a small international footprint, the Company is out of scope for 2025 and will be subject to the CIT beginning in 2030. Additionally, the Company does not expect the Act to have a material impact on the consolidated financials.

Income Tax Return: Globe Life Inc. and its subsidiaries file a life-nonlife consolidated federal income tax return. The statutes of limitations for the Internal Revenue Service's examination and assessment of additional tax are closed for all tax years prior to 2017 with respect to Globe Life's consolidated federal income tax returns. Management concludes that adequate provision has been made in the consolidated financial statements for any potential assessments that may result from current or future tax examinations and other tax-related matters for all open years. The Company's Bermuda subsidiaries have made, or intend to make, the election under Internal Revenue Code Section 953(d) to be taxed as a U.S. Corporation effective with their date of incorporation.

Valuations: Globe Life has a $71.7 million net operating loss ("NOL") carryforward at December 31, 2025, of which $7.2 million was created prior to 2018 and will begin to expire in 2035 if not otherwise used to offset future taxable income. The remaining NOL carryforward of $64.5 million may be carried forward indefinitely. A valuation allowance is to be recorded when it is more likely than not that deferred tax assets will not be realized by the Company. A valuation allowance has been established in the amount of $2.6 million related to pre-acquisition and post-acquisition NOL carryforward deferred tax assets from an acquisition in 2024 as management has determined that the acquired companies will more than likely not have sufficient taxable income in future periods to realize the deferred tax assets.

Globe Life's tax liability is adjusted to include a provision for uncertain tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. However, during the years 2023 through 2025, Globe Life did not have any uncertain tax positions which resulted in unrecognized tax benefits.