INCOME TAXES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

INCOME TAXES

INCOME TAXES

Income tax expense consisted of the following (in thousands):

	Years Ended December 31,
	2024		2023		2022
Current:
Federal	$	53,521	$	17,624	$	23,741
State	3,496		7,661		12,423
Foreign	2,095		2,053		489
	59,112		27,338		36,653
Deferred:
Federal	(47,094)		10,019		38,521
State	(3,106)		(1,866)		4,032
	(50,200)		8,153		42,553
Total income tax expense	$	8,912	$	35,491	$	79,206

The effective income tax rate differs from the federal corporate tax rate of 21% in 2024, 2023, and 2022 as follows (in thousands):

	Years Ended December 31,
	2024		2023		2022
Tax at statutory rate	$	8,921	$	31,034	$	68,205
State income taxes, net of federal tax benefits	308		4,578		12,999
Other, net	(317)		(121)		(1,998)
Total income tax expense	$	8,912	$	35,491	$	79,206

The following table presents our deferred income tax assets and liabilities (in thousands):

	December 31,
	2024		2023
Deferred income tax assets:
Insurance and claims accruals	$	57,666	$	57,168
Compensation-related accruals	10,146		9,931
Allowance for uncollectible accounts	1,918		2,797
Operating lease liabilities	12,484		8,733
Other	3,589		2,235
Gross deferred income tax assets	85,803		80,864
Deferred income tax liabilities:
Property and equipment	305,089		351,352
Investments in equity securities	14,109		12,240
Prepaid expenses	6,391		7,118
Operating lease right-of-use assets	12,028		8,327
Investment in partnership	14,805		18,790
Other	2,897		3,217
Gross deferred income tax liabilities	355,319		401,044
Net deferred income tax liability	$	269,516	$	320,180

Deferred income tax assets are more likely than not to be realized as a result of the reversal of deferred income tax liabilities.

We recognized a $14 thousand decrease, a $201 thousand decrease, and a $54 thousand increase in the net liability for unrecognized tax benefits for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022, respectively. We recognized net interest expense of $129 thousand, $70 thousand, and $42 thousand during 2024, 2023, and 2022, respectively. If recognized, $1.5 million, $1.7 million, and $2.0 million of unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively, would impact our effective tax rate. Interest of $0.7 million as of December 31, 2024 and $0.5 million as of December 31, 2023 has been reflected as a component of the total liability. We expect no other significant increases or decreases for uncertain tax positions during the next 12 months. The reconciliations of beginning and ending gross balances of unrecognized tax benefits are shown below (in thousands).

	December 31,
	2024		2023		2022
Unrecognized tax benefits, beginning balance	$	2,245	$	2,495	$	2,425
Gross increases – tax positions in prior period	179		161		99
Gross increases – current period tax positions	80		120		320
Reductions due to lapsed statute of limitations	(269)		(531)		(349)
Unrecognized tax benefits, ending balance	$	2,235	$	2,245	$	2,495

We file U.S. federal income tax returns, as well as income tax returns in various states and several foreign jurisdictions. The years 2021 and forward are open for examination by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), and various years are open for examination by state and foreign tax authorities. State and foreign jurisdictional statutes of limitations generally range from three to four years.