Income Taxes

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2025

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

12. INCOME TAXES

The Company, Spire Missouri, and Spire Alabama are subject to federal income tax as well as income tax in various state and local jurisdictions. Spire files a consolidated federal income tax return and various state income tax returns and allocates income taxes to Spire Missouri, Spire Alabama and its other subsidiaries as if each entity were a separate taxpayer.

The provision for income taxes during the fiscal years ended September 30, 2025, 2024, and 2023 was as follows:

	Spire									Spire Missouri									Spire Alabama
	2025			2024			2023			2025			2024			2023			2025		2024		2023
Federal:
Current	$	1.7		$	0.2		$	0.7		$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—	$	—	$	—
Deferred		46.3			46.1			30.4			12.4			13.5			10.1			22.9		21.7		15.8
Investment tax credits		(0.2	)		(0.2	)		(0.2	)		(0.2	)		(0.2	)		(0.2	)		—		—		—
State and local:
Current		0.7			1.5			1.2			0.2			0.9			—			—		—		—
Deferred		11.2			11.1			6.7			1.4			1.5			1.7			5.5		5.2		4.5
Total income tax expense	$	59.7		$	58.7		$	38.8		$	13.8		$	15.7		$	11.6		$	28.4	$	26.9	$	20.3

The effective income tax rate varied from the federal statutory income tax rate for each year due to the following:

	Spire									Spire Missouri									Spire Alabama
	2025			2024			2023			2025			2024			2023			2025			2024			2023
Federal income tax statutory rate		21.0	%		21.0	%		21.0	%		21.0	%		21.0	%		21.0	%		21.0	%		21.0	%		21.0	%
State and local income taxes, net of federal    income tax benefits		3.7			3.7			3.7			2.6			2.6			2.6			4.1			4.1			4.1
Certain expenses capitalized on books and    deducted on tax return		(1.1	)		(1.2	)		(1.4	)		(2.5	)		(2.7	)		(2.7	)		—			—			—
Tax credits *		(0.8	)		(0.9	)		(3.3	)		(1.1	)		(1.1	)		(4.2	)		(0.3	)		(0.3	)		(1.9	)
Amortization of excess deferred taxes		(3.1	)		(3.3	)		(5.1	)		(7.0	)		(7.4	)		(7.7	)		0.1			0.2			0.2
Taxes related to prior years		(1.3	)		—			—			(2.9	)		—			—			—			—			—
Other items – net		(0.4	)		(0.3	)		0.2			(0.4	)		(0.7	)		—			0.1			0.1			0.1
Effective income tax rate		18.0	%		19.0	%		15.1	%		9.7	%		11.7	%		9.0	%		25.0	%		25.1	%		23.5	%

* In 2023, the Company completed a research and development study which encompassed fiscal years 2014 to 2022.

The significant items comprising the net deferred tax liability or asset as of September 30 were as follows:

	Spire						Spire Missouri						Spire Alabama
	2025			2024			2025			2024			2025			2024
Deferred tax assets:
Operating losses	$	150.1		$	182.2		$	1.5		$	24.7		$	146.1		$	153.0
Goodwill		—			—			—			—			29.7			44.4
Pension and other postretirement benefits		52.6			58.6			36.0			39.3			14.8			17.1
Regulatory amount due to customers, net		23.9			27.1			21.4			24.5			—			2.3
Reserves not currently deductible		24.9			0.5			—			—			3.4			2.9
Other		73.5			43.3			16.7			12.3			6.0			2.1
Total deferred tax assets		325.0			311.7			75.6			100.8			200.0			221.8
Deferred tax liabilities:
Relating to property		(912.3	)		(842.2	)		(572.6	)		(531.2	)		(238.1	)		(230.0	)
Regulatory pension and other postretirement    benefits		(54.4	)		(60.8	)		(27.2	)		(33.8	)		(24.0	)		(25.6	)
Deferred gas costs		(10.7	)		(19.9	)		(8.2	)		(17.7	)		—			—
Other ***		(235.0	)		(197.2	)		(66.3	)		(85.7	)		(2.0	)		(2.1	)
Total deferred tax liabilities		(1,212.4	)		(1,120.1	)		(674.3	)		(668.4	)		(264.1	)		(257.7	)
Net deferred tax (liability) asset	$	(887.4	)	$	(808.4	)	$	(598.7	)	$	(567.6	)	$	(64.1	)	$	(35.9	)

*** For Spire, Other consists primarily of goodwill-related liabilities.

As indicated in Note 1, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, the Company’s regulated operations accounting for income taxes is impacted by ASC Topic 980, Regulated Operations.

On April 14, 2023, the IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2023-15 that provides a safe harbor method of accounting that taxpayers may use to determine whether to deduct or capitalize expenditures to repair, maintain, replace, or improve natural gas transmission and distribution property. Under the revenue procedure, the method of accounting will depend on the property’s classification as linear transmission property, linear distribution property, or non-linear property. The revenue procedure may be adopted in tax years ending after May 1, 2023. The Company adopted the revenue procedure for Spire Alabama, Spire Gulf, and Spire Mississippi, with the filing of its tax return for the year ended September 30, 2024. The Company is still evaluating the revenue procedure for Spire Missouri.

In assessing whether deferred tax assets are realizable, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Management considers all significant available positive and negative evidence, including the existence of losses in recent years, the timing of deferred tax liability reversals, projected future taxable income, taxable income in carryback years, and tax planning strategies to assess the need for a valuation allowance. Based upon this evidence, management believes it is more likely than not the Company, Spire Missouri and Spire Alabama will realize the benefits of these deferred tax assets.

As of September 30, 2025, Spire, and on a separate company basis, Spire Missouri and Spire Alabama, had carryforwards as shown below.

	Spire		Spire Missouri		Spire Alabama
Federal and state loss carryforwards	$	646.1	$	9.7	$	583.3
Tax credit carryforwards		18.9		8.8		2.7

For federal tax purposes, Spire Missouri’s and Spire Alabama’s loss carryforwards may be utilized against income from another member of the consolidated group. The loss carryforwards begin to expire in fiscal 2030 for certain state purposes and fiscal 2037 for federal and other state purposes. The tax credit carryforwards are expected to be utilized prior to their expiration.

The Company, Spire Missouri and Spire Alabama recognize the tax benefit from a tax position only if it is at least more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by the taxing authorities, based on the technical merits of the position. Unrecognized tax benefits are reported as a reduction of a deferred tax asset for an operating loss carryforward to the extent the recognition of the benefit would impact the operating loss carryforward, pursuant to ASU 2013-11. The following table presents a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances of unrecognized tax benefits.

	Spire								Spire Missouri							Spire Alabama
	2025			2024			2023		2025			2024		2023		2025		2024		2023
Unrecognized tax benefits, beginning of year	$	26.3		$	23.8		$	19.6	$	25.3		$	22.9	$	19.3	$	0.3	$	0.3	$	—
Increases related to tax positions taken in    current year		0.6			2.6			4.2		0.2			2.4		3.6		—		—		0.3
Decreases related to tax positions taken in prior years		(24.2	)		—			—		(24.2	)		—		—		—		—		—
Reductions due to lapse of applicable statute    of limitations		—			(0.1	)		—		—			—		—		—		—		—
Unrecognized tax benefits, end of year	$	2.7		$	26.3		$	23.8	$	1.3		$	25.3	$	22.9	$	0.3	$	0.3	$	0.3

As of September 30, 2025 and 2024, the amounts of unrecognized tax benefits which, if recognized, would affect the effective tax rate were $2.7 and $6.2, respectively, for the Company, $1.3 and $5.3, respectively, for Spire Missouri, and $0.3 and $0.3, respectively, for Spire Alabama. It is reasonably possible that events will occur in the next 12 months that could increase or decrease the amount of the unrecognized tax benefits. The Company, Spire Missouri, and Spire Alabama do not expect that any such change will be significant to the balance sheets and results of operations.

The Company, Spire Missouri, and Spire Alabama record potential interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions as interest expense and other income deductions, respectively. As of September 30, 2025 and 2024, interest accrued associated with uncertain tax positions was de minimis, and no penalties were accrued.

The Company, Spire Missouri, and Spire Alabama are no longer subject to examination for fiscal years prior to 2022, except to the extent the net operating losses from prior years are reviewed.

On July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (the Act) was signed into law. The Company is evaluating the impact of the Act and believes it will not have a material impact on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flow. For fiscal 2025, the impact was not material.