INCOME TAXES

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2024

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

INCOME TAXES

INCOME TAXES

The Company uses a full year projected effective tax rate approach to calculate taxes. In addition, certain items impacting total income tax expense are recorded in the periods in which they occur. The projected effective tax rate is the ratio of projected “Income tax expense (benefit)” divided by projected “Income (loss) from operations before income taxes.”

For the three months ended June 30, 2024, the Company's income tax provision amounted to an income tax benefit of approximately $3 million, or 9.1 percent of loss from operations before income taxes. For the six months ended June 30, 2024, the Company's income tax provision amounted to an income tax expense of approximately $21 million, or 15.4 percent of income from operations before income taxes. The effective tax rate differed from the U.S. statutory tax rate of 21 percent in each period due primarily to non-taxable investment income, intercompany cost allocations, and the deductible foreign taxes paid and accrued.

For the three months ended June 30, 2023, the Company's income tax provision amounted to an income tax expense of approximately $25 million, or 16.1 percent of income from operations before income tax. For the six months ended June 30, 2023, the Company's income tax provision amounted to an income tax expense of approximately $25 million or 15.4 percent of income from operations before income taxes. The effective tax rate differed from the U.S. statutory tax rate of 21 percent in each period due primarily to non-taxable investment income and a decrease in the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets.

Valuation Allowance on Deferred Tax Assets

The application of U.S. GAAP requires the evaluation of the recoverability of deferred tax assets and establishment of a valuation allowance, if necessary, to reduce the deferred tax asset to an amount that is more likely than not expected to be realized, including an assessment of the character of future income necessary to realize a deferred tax asset. As of both June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company had a valuation allowance of $36 million regarding realized and unrealized capital losses on our fixed maturity securities portfolio. A portion of the deferred tax asset relates to unrealized capital losses for which the carryforward period has not yet begun, and as such, when assessing its recoverability, we consider our ability and intent to hold the underlying securities to recovery. The amount of the deferred tax asset considered realizable may be adjusted if projections of future taxable income, including the character of that taxable income during the requisite carryforward period, are updated or if objective negative evidence exists that outweighs the positive evidence.