Income Taxes

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Income Taxes [Abstract]

Income Taxes

7.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 generated taxable income of $4.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, taxable loss of $45.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 and taxable income of $51.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The Company’s TRS recognized income tax expense of $1.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, income tax benefit of $9.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 and income tax expense of $10.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. One of the Company’s TRS generally provides the Company with services (property management services to a real estate joint venture and other services) for which the Company reimburses the TRS. In addition, one of the Company’s TRS owns the investments in the technology-focused limited partnerships and marketable securities that generate investment income and losses. The investment income or loss is recognized for tax purposes at the time of sale or exchange of the investment.

In addition to the TRS income tax provision, income tax expense primarily relates to the Texas-based margin tax for all Texas apartment communities. Income tax expense for the Company for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $4.7 million, income tax benefit for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $6.2 million and income tax expense for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $13.6 million, as presented in “Income tax (expense) benefit” in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations.

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the components of the Company’s TRS deferred income tax assets and liabilities were as follows (dollars in thousands):

	December 31, 2023		December 31, 2022
Deferred tax liability:
Unrealized gain from limited partnerships	$	300	$	1,122
Unrealized gain from marketable securities & other		3,575		1,700
Total deferred tax liability	$	3,875	$	2,822
Net deferred tax liability	$	3,875	$	2,822

The net deferred tax liability balances are reflected in “Accrued expenses and other liabilities” in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets. The TRS have no reserve for uncertain tax positions for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, and management does not believe there will be any material changes in the TRS unrecognized tax positions over the next 12 months. If necessary, the TRS accrue interest and penalties on unrecognized tax benefits as a component of income tax expense.

Net Operating Loss Carryforwards

As of December 31, 2023, the Company held federal net operating loss, or NOL, carryforwards of $46.2 million for income tax purposes that expire in the years 2024 to 2032. 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 prior to utilization. The Company may use these NOL to offset all or a portion of the taxable income generated at the REIT level. Tax years 2020 through 2023 are subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service. No tax examination is currently in process.

Taxable Composition of Distributions

For income tax purposes, dividends paid to holders of common stock generally 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, 2023, 2022 and 2021, dividends per share held for the entire year were estimated to be taxable as follows:

	2023					2022					2021
	Amount		Percentage			Amount		Percentage			Amount		Percentage
Ordinary income	$	5.60		100.00	%	$	4.44		95.03	%	$	2.43		59.18	%
Capital gains		—		—			0.23		4.78	%		1.36		33.15	%
Un-recaptured Section 1250 gains		—		—			0.01		0.19	%		0.31		7.67	%
Total	$	5.60		100	%	$	4.68		100	%	$	4.10		100	%

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.