Income Taxes

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

Net deferred tax assets (liabilities) as reported on the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 are shown in table 12.1 below.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities
Table	12.1
(In thousands)		2023		2022
Total deferred tax assets		$	109,391	$	144,819
Total deferred tax liabilities		(29,609)		(20,050)
Net deferred tax asset (liability)		$	79,782	$	124,769

Table 12.2 includes the components of the net deferred tax asset (liability) as of December 31, 2023 and 2022.

Deferred tax components
Table	12.2
(In thousands)		2023		2022
Unearned premium reserves		$	13,862	$	16,209
Benefit plans		(19,142)		(9,444)
Loss reserves		1,921		1,785
Unrealized losses on investments		70,961		108,588
Deferred policy acquisition cost		(3,064)		(4,003)
Deferred compensation		7,466		6,806
Research and experimental costs		13,351		9,719
Other, net		(5,573)		(4,891)
Net deferred tax asset (liability)		$	79,782	$	124,769

We believe that all gross deferred tax assets at December 31, 2023 and 2022 are fully realizable and no valuation allowance has been established.

Table 12.3 summarizes the components of the provision for income taxes:

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes
Table	12.3
(In thousands)		2023		2022		2021
Current federal		$	187,246	$	228,259	$	161,055
Deferred federal		1,550		(5,235)		4,392
Other		484		1,661		1,347
Provision for income taxes		$	189,280	$	224,685	$	166,794

Current federal income tax payments were $188.2 million, $236.5 million, and $155.3 million in 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. At December 31, 2023 we owned $848.6 million of tax and loss bonds.

Table 12.4 reconciles the federal statutory income tax rate to our effective tax provision rate.

Effective tax rate reconciliation
Table	12.4
		2023		2022		2021
Federal statutory income tax rate		21.0	%	21.0	%	21.0	%
Tax exempt municipal bond interest		(0.5)	%	(0.5)	%	(0.6)	%
Other, net		0.5	%	0.1	%	0.4	%
Effective tax rate		21.0	%	20.6	%	20.8	%

We have not recorded any uncertain tax positions during 2023 and 2022 and have no unrecognized tax benefits at December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022. We recognize interest accrued and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in income taxes. The statute of limitations related to the consolidated federal income tax return is closed for all years prior to 2020.