Income Taxes

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2023

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

13.  Income Taxes

In March 2020, the CARES Act was signed into law providing numerous tax provisions and other stimulus measures, including temporary changes regarding the prior and future utilization of NOLs. The CARES Act amends the NOL provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, thereby allowing for the carryback of losses arising in tax years beginning before December 31, 2017, to each of the two taxable years preceding the taxable year of loss. Approximately $1,500,000 of pre-tax NOL was carried back two years to fully offset taxable income. This carryback freed up previously utilized R&D credits which resulted in an estimated increase in the R&D credit carryforward of $196,000. The carryback created approximately $16,000 of AMT tax, which was refunded. The cash impact of this carryback was $309,412. A receivable was set up for this amount as of March 31, 2020, and the cash has since been received.

In December 2020, the CAA was enacted as a supplement to the CARES Act legislation and provided additional financial relief to taxpayers adversely impacted by restrictions put into place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the CAA provides funding for public health initiatives in response to the pandemic. This legislation did not have a material impact on the Company’s tax position.

On March 11, 2021, the ARPA, which includes certain business tax provisions, was signed into law. This legislation did not have a

material impact on the Company’s tax position.

In August 2022, the U.S. government enacted the Inflation Reduction Act (the “IRA”). The IRA makes the following changes to the U.S tax code: imposes a corporate alternative minimum tax of 15% on corporations with an average annual Adjusted Financial Statement Income over a three year period in excess of $1 billion, increases the amount of R&D credit that qualified businesses can apply against payroll taxes to $500,000 and imposes an excise tax equal to one percent of the fair market value of stock of a publicly traded U.S. corporation that is repurchased by the company. These changes predominately apply to tax years beginning after December 31, 2022. It does not appear that this legislation will have a material impact on the Company’s tax position.

The components of income taxes are as follows:

	For the Fiscal Year Ended September 30,
	2023		2022		2021
Current provision (benefit):
Federal	$	1,541,726	$	522,473	$	95,818
State		56,288		277,991		9,911
Total current provision (benefit)		1,598,014		800,464		105,729
Deferred provision (benefit)
Federal		28,994		998,585		(754,995)
State		(19,491)		18,782		(438,517)
Total deferred provision (benefit)		9,503		1,017,367		(1,193,511)
Total current and deferred provision (benefit)	$	1,607,517	$	1,817,831	$	(1,087,783)

Following is a reconciliation of the statutory federal rate to the Company’s effective income tax rate:

	For the Fiscal Year Ended September 30,
	2023		2022		2021
U.S. Federal statutory tax rate	21.0	%	21.0	%	21.0	%
State income taxes, net of federal benefit	0.4	%	11.8	%	0.6	%
Permanent items	—	%	0.1	%	0.2	%
Research and development tax credits	(0.8)	%	(0.1)	%	(0.6)	%
Valuation allowance	(0.1)	%	(6.4)	%	(47.9)	%
Change in unrecognized tax benefits	0.1	%	(1.5)	%	(0.7)	%
123R cancellations and forfeitures	0.4	%	0.3	%	0.0	%
Other	0.1	%	(0.5)	%	0.0	%
Effective income tax rate	21.1	%	24.7	%	(27.4)	%

The deferred tax effect of temporary differences giving rise to the Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities consists of the components below:

	As of September 30,
	2023		2022		2021
	Non Current		Non Current		Non Current
Deferred tax assets:
Reserves and accruals	$	778,805	$	651,321	$	654,624
Research and development credit		—		—		1,327,162
NOL carryforwards -fed/state		980,755		984,004		1,612,043
Depreciation		—		—		—
Stock options		241,598		45,069		41,652
Amortization		520,445		—		—
		2,521,603		1,680,394		3,635,481
Less: Valuation allowance		(977,747)		(981,816)		(1,449,204)
Total deferred tax assets		1,543,856		698,578		2,186,277
Deferred tax liabilities:
Depreciation		(1,087,653)		(652,091)		(1,122,455)
Total deferred tax liabilities		(1,087,653)		(652,091)		(1,122,455)
Net deferred tax asset	$	456,203	$	46,487	$	1,063,822

At September 30, 2023 and 2022, the Company had state NOL carryforwards of approximately $19.5 million and $19.7 million, respectively, which begin to expire in varying amounts after the fiscal year ending September 30, 2027. The Company does not have federal R&D Tax Credit carryforwards in fiscal 2023 and 2022.

Deferred tax assets are reduced by valuation allowances if, based on the consideration of all available evidence, it is more likely than not that some portion of the deferred tax asset will not be realized. Significant weight is given to evidence that can be verified objectively, and significant management judgment is required in determining any valuation allowance recorded against net deferred tax assets. The Company evaluates deferred income taxes on a quarterly basis to determine if valuation allowances are required by considering available evidence, including historical and projected taxable income and tax planning strategies which are both prudent and feasible. ASC Topic 740 requires the consideration of a valuation allowance to reflect the likelihood of realization of deferred tax assets. Significant management judgment is required in determining any valuation allowance recorded against net deferred tax assets.

For the year ended September 30, 2021, the valuation allowance was released against all federal and state deferred tax assets with the exception of certain state net operating losses due to positive evidence that the assets are more likely than not to be realized in future years. The Company will continue to assess all available evidence during future periods to evaluate any changes to the realization of its deferred tax assets. If the Company were to determine that it would be able to realize additional state deferred tax assets in the future, it would make an adjustment to the valuation allowance which would reduce the provision for income taxes.

Following is a reconciliation of beginning and ending balances of total amounts of gross unrecognized tax benefits:

	For the Fiscal Year Ended September 30,
	2023		2022		2021
Balance at beginning of year	$	452,000	$	590,000	$	615,000
Unrecognized tax benefits related to prior years		—		—		—
Unrecognized tax benefits related to current year		8,000		—		7,000
Decrease in unrecognized tax benefits due to the lapse of applicable statute of limitations		—		(138,000)		(32,000)
Balance at end of year	$	460,000	$	452,000	$	590,000

The total liabilities associated with the unrecognized tax benefits that, if recognized, would impact the Company’s effective tax rate were $460,000, $452,000 and $590,000 at September 30, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. It is not anticipated that the balance of unrecognized tax benefits at September 30, 2023 will change significantly over the next twelve months. The balance of unrecognized tax benefits as reflected in the table above at September 30, 2023 are recorded on the balance sheet as a reduction to deferred tax assets.

The Company’s policy is to recognize interest accrued and, if applicable, penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in income tax expense for all periods presented. At September 30, 2023, the Company currently has no unrecognized tax benefits against which interest has been accrued, and there is no accrual recorded for penalties.

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2023, 2022 and 2021, the Company did not recognize any expense for interest (net of federal impact) within income tax expense.

The Company is subject to income taxes in the U.S. federal and various state jurisdictions. Tax regulations within each jurisdiction are subject to the interpretation of related tax laws and regulations and require significant judgment to apply. The Company’s federal income tax returns for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2018 and thereafter are open years subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service. The Company files income tax returns in various state jurisdictions, as appropriate, with varying statutes of limitation. There are no state income tax examinations in process at this time.