Income Taxes

Due to the structure of MAA as a REIT and the nature of the operations of its operating properties, no provision for federal income taxes has been made at the MAA level. In addition, as MAALP is structured as a limited partnership, and its partners recognize their proportionate share of income or loss in their tax returns, no provision for federal income taxes has been made at the MAALP level. Historically, the Company has incurred certain state and local income, excise and franchise taxes.

Taxable REIT Subsidiaries

A TRS is an entity that is subject to federal, state and any applicable local corporate income tax without the benefit of the dividends paid deduction applicable to REITs. The Company’s TRS did not generate any material taxable income or income tax expense for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016. The Company’s TRS generally provide the Company with third party services (payroll and other services) for which the Company reimburses its TRS. All intercompany transactions are eliminated in the accompanying consolidated financial statements.

For the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, the reconciliation of income tax attributable to continuing operations for the TRS computed at the U.S. statutory rate to the income tax provision was as follows (in thousands):



	2018		2017			2016
Tax expense at U.S. statutory rates on TRS income subject to tax	$	115	$	2,177		$	3,185
Valuation allowance	127		(2,177		)	(3,185		)
TRS income tax provision	$	242	$	—		$	—

Income tax expense for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016 was $2.6 million, $2.6 million and $1.7 million, respectively, and is presented in “Income tax expense” in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations. Income tax expense primarily relates to the Texas-based margin tax for all Texas apartment communities in addition to the Company’s TRS income tax provision discussed above.

The Company’s deferred tax asset and liability balances as of December 31, 2018 and 2017 were immaterial. The Company had no reserve for uncertain tax positions for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, and management does not believe there will be any material changes in the Company's unrecognized tax positions over the next 12 months. If necessary, the Company accrues interest and penalties on unrecognized tax benefits as a component of income tax expense.

As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company held federal NOL carryforwards of $71.5 million for income tax purposes that expire in years 2019 to 2033. Utilization of any NOL carryforwards is subject to an annual limitation due to ownership change limitations provided by Section 382 of the Code and similar state provisions. The annual limitations may result in the expiration of NOL carryforwards before utilization. The Company may use these NOLs to offset all or a portion of the taxable income generated at the REIT level. Tax years 2015 through 2018 are subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service. No tax examination is currently in process.

For income tax purposes, dividends paid to holders of common stock primarily consist of ordinary income, return of capital, capital gains, qualified dividends and un-recaptured Section 1250 gains, or a combination thereof. For the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, dividends per share held for the entire year were estimated to be taxable as follows:



	2018				2017				2016
	Amount		Percentage		Amount		Percentage		Amount		Percentage
Ordinary income	$	3.66	99.3	%	$	2.79	80.2	%	$	3.28	100	%
Capital gain	0.02		0.6	%	0.31		8.9	%	—		—	%
Un-recaptured Section 1250 gain	0.01		0.1	%	0.38		10.9	%	—		—	%
	$	3.69	100.00	%	$	3.48	100.00	%	$	3.28	100.00	%

The Company designated the per share amounts above as capital gain dividends in accordance with the requirements of the Code. The difference between net income available to common shareholders for financial reporting purposes and taxable income before dividend deductions relates primarily to temporary differences such as depreciation and amortization and taxable gains on sold properties.

U.S. Tax Reform

In December 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or the Act, was enacted in the United States, requiring companies to account in 2017 for the current and future effects of the legislative changes. As REITs are pass-through entities for the purpose of U.S. federal taxation, the legislative changes created by the Act are largely not applicable to the Company. Generally, the effects to REITs resulting from the Act include a reduction in the TRS federal statutory tax rate to 21% and a one-time inclusion in REIT taxable income of foreign subsidiary earnings. As noted above, the Company's TRS recognized no material taxable income in 2018 and 2017, and the Company has no foreign subsidiaries. Management has concluded there was no material effect to the Company’s consolidated financial statements from either a tax or financial statement perspective as a result of the Act.