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Income Taxes
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2022
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income taxes Income taxes
Components of current and deferred income tax expense (benefit) are as follows ($000’s omitted):
 
202220212020
Current expense (benefit)
Federal$615,434 $430,686 $159,677 
State and other100,223 73,671 24,580 
$715,657 $504,357 $184,257 
Deferred expense (benefit)
Federal$55,653 $57,743 $116,484 
State and other50,931 1,425 21,114 
$106,584 $59,168 $137,598 
Income tax expense (benefit)$822,241 $563,525 $321,855 

The following table reconciles the statutory federal income tax rate to the effective income tax rate:
 
202220212020
Income taxes at federal statutory rate21.0 %21.0 %21.0 %
State and local income taxes, net of federal tax3.4 3.3 3.3 
Federal tax credits(0.9)(1.2)(4.8)
Deferred tax asset valuation allowance0.4 (0.8)(0.8)
Other— 0.2 (0.1)
Effective rate23.9 %22.5 %18.6 %

The effective tax rates differ from the federal statutory rate primarily due to state income tax expense, benefits associated with federal energy efficient home credits, and changes in valuation allowances relating to projected utilization of certain state net operating loss ("NOL") carryforwards. Income tax expense for 2020 includes a benefit of $56.8 million associated with the extension of federal energy efficient home credits related to homes closed in prior open tax years.

On August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act ("IRA") was enacted, extending the federal efficient home credit through December 2032. The criteria for homes qualifying for the credit shifted to a higher standard effective January 1, 2023. We are currently analyzing the impact of the increased requirements on our ability to qualify homes for the credit. Other tax provisions of the IRA, including the corporate alternative minimum tax effective for tax years ended after December 31, 2022, are not expected to have a material impact on our financial statements.
Deferred tax assets and liabilities reflect temporary differences arising from the different treatment of items for tax and accounting purposes. Components of our net deferred tax asset are as follows ($000’s omitted):
 
 At December 31,
 20222021
Deferred tax assets:
Accrued insurance$138,289 $132,386 
Inventory valuation reserves58,339 62,806 
Capitalized inventory expenses32,620 13,839 
State NOL carryforwards105,609 144,746 
Other66,500 59,667 
401,357 413,444 
Deferred tax liabilities:
Deferred income(439,863)(367,285)
Fixed assets and intangibles(31,921)(21,324)
Other(31,802)(26,151)
(503,586)(414,760)
Valuation allowance(30,869)(25,165)
Net deferred tax asset (liability)$(133,098)$(26,481)

We have state NOLs in various jurisdictions that may generally be carried forward up to 20 years, depending on the jurisdiction. Our state NOL carryforward deferred tax assets will expire if unused at various dates as follows: $32.8 million from 2023 to 2027 and $72.8 million from 2028 and thereafter.

We evaluate our deferred tax assets each period to determine if a valuation allowance is required based on whether it is "more likely than not" that some portion of the deferred tax assets would not be realized. The ultimate realization of these deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of sufficient taxable income during future periods. We conduct our evaluation by considering all available positive and negative evidence, including, among other factors, historical operating results, forecasts of future profitability, the duration of statutory carryforward periods, and the outlooks for the U.S. housing industry and broader economy.
The accounting for deferred taxes is based upon estimates of future results. Differences between estimated and actual results could result in changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets that could have a material impact on our consolidated results of operations or financial position. Changes in existing tax laws could also affect actual tax results and the realization of deferred tax assets over time.
Unrecognized tax benefits represent the difference between tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return and the benefits recognized for financial statement purposes. We had $23.6 million and $22.5 million of gross unrecognized tax benefits at December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. If recognized, $18.7 million and $17.8 million, respectively, of these amounts would impact our effective tax rate. Additionally, we had accrued interest and penalties of $4.1 million and $2.9 million at December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

We do not expect the total amount of gross unrecognized tax benefits to increase or decrease by a material amount within the next twelve months. A reconciliation of the change in the unrecognized tax benefits is as follows ($000’s omitted):
 
202220212020
Unrecognized tax benefits, beginning of period$22,536 $30,855 $40,300 
Increases related to positions taken during a prior period— 1,428 — 
Decreases related to positions taken during a prior period(303)(8,896)(12,981)
Increases related to positions taken during the current period1,450 267 11,001 
Decreases related to settlements with taxing authorities— — (7,465)
Decreases related to lapse of the applicable statute of limitations(71)(1,118)— 
Unrecognized tax benefits, end of period$23,612 $22,536 $30,855 

We continue to participate in the Compliance Assurance Process (“CAP”) with the IRS as an alternative to the traditional IRS examination process. Through the CAP program, we work with the IRS to achieve tax compliance by resolving issues prior to filing the tax return. We are also currently under examination by state taxing jurisdictions and anticipate finalizing certain of the examinations within the next twelve months. The outcome of these examinations is not yet determinable, and we are not aware of unrecorded liabilities. The statute of limitations for our major tax jurisdictions remains open for examination for tax years 2017 to 2022.